LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

PRESENTED  BY 


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IHvision r:r. 

Scctinn....^..O...... 

' 1  — -V    r^       L    J 

BV    1520    .F37 

Fergusson,  Edmund  Morris 

1864-1934. 
Church-school  admi  ni  st  rat  il 


Church-School  Administration 


BY  E.  MORRIS  FERGUSSON,  D.D 

PILOTING  THE  SUNDAY 
SCHOOL.  A  Message  to  Super- 
intendents. Cloth,  $1.35. 

CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINIS- 
TRATION. A  Manual  for  Pastor, 
Superintendent    and    Director. 

Cloth,  $1.75. 

HOW  TO  RUN  A  LITTLE  SUN- 
DAY SCHOOL.  A  Handbook  of 
Sunday    School    Management 

Cloth,  $1.00. 


V 


vV 


A 


Church-School 
Administration 


Fell  '^i  "  'i-^ 


c-rV>^ 


By 

E.  MORRIS  ^FERGUSSON,  D.D. 

Author  of  "Haw  to  Run  a  Little  Sunday-SchooV 


New  York 


Chicago 


Fleming     H.     Revell     Company 


London 


AND 


Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1922,  by  i 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY  i 


IVinted  in  the  United  Statts  of  America 


New  York :  1 58  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh :       75     Princes     Street 


To 
the  memory  of 

EDMUND 
{i8gg-ig2d) 

whose  radiant  life  exemplified 
the  ideals  of  religious  education 


Preface 

FOR  the  practical  superintendent,  for  the  pastor 
and  director  seeking  the  best  in  methods  of 
local  religious  education,  for  the  student  of 
church-school  method,  and  for  the  teacher  in  need 
of  a  class  text  on  church-school  administration,  this 
book  is  written.  It  embodies  views,  experiences  and 
convictions  gathered  in  thirty-six  years  of  active 
Sunday-school  work,  field  and  local;  and  it  aims 
withal  to  represent  the  latest  viewpoints  and  stand- 
ards of  our  rapidly  changing  church-school  situar 
tion,  and  to  forecast  the  further  changes  which  now 
impend. 

I  have  tried  not  to  forget  the  situation  and  needs  in 
the  little  Sunday-school  of  the  rural  and  frontier 
fields,  whose  workers  constitute  so  large  and  signifi- 
cant a  section  of  our  .Sunday-school  army.  The 
principles  laid  down,  and  most  of  the  precepts,  are 
for  them  no  less  than  for  the  worker  in  the  church 
school  of  city  size  and  departmental  development. 
But  for  the  specific  study  of  little-school  problems  as 
such,  the  reader  is  referred  to  my  earlier  book,  "  How 
to  Run  a  Little  Sunday  School." 

The  treatment  starts  with  a  general  view  of  the 
steps  needful  in  organizing  the  school  for  efficiency 
of  operation.  It  closes  with  a  review  of  those  fea- 
tures of  church-school  life  which  minister  to  personaJ 

7 


8  PEEFACB 

religion  and  lead  to  holiness  of  character  and  dedica- 
tion to  Christlike  service.  Between  these  chapters 
the  main  topics  with  which  the  administrator  must 
deal  are  duly  considered  and  his  practical  problems 
discussed. 

Most  of  the  chapters  open  historically.  I  have 
nought  to  show  how  our  present  modes  of  work  have 
grown  out  of  those  current  in  the  last  generation,  and 
in  the  times  before.  I  hope  thus  to  enable  such  of 
my  fellow-workers  as  still  follow  the  old  ways  to  see 
the  path  over  into  the  new  and  the  reasons  why  the 
new  ways  are  better.  Perhaps,  also,  some  of  those 
whose  approach  to  religious  education  has  been  mod- 
em and  academic  may  be  strengthened  in  sympathy 
and  respect  for  the  conservative  wing  of  our  common 
host,  through  these  glimpses  at  the  progress  of  each 
specialty  to  its  present  stage  of  educational  develop- 
ment. If  the  church-school  worker  of  to-day  matches 
his  predecessors  in  faithfulness  and  eagerness  for  the 
best,  he  will  do  well. 

I  have  been  greatly  helped  by  the  criticisms  of  my 
Sunday-school  friends  who  have  read  the  manuscript 
in  some  of  its  earlier  forms. 

E.  M.  F. 

Auburndale,  Mass. 


Contents 

I.  The  Church  School  Organized       ,      17 

1.  Why  Organize? 

2.  Organizing  the  Session 

3.  Organizing  the  Pupils 

4.  Organizing  the  Teachers 

5.  Organizing  the  Officers 

6.  Organizing  Membership  Increase 

7.  Organizing  the  Course  of  Study 

8.  Organizing  the  Music 

9.  Organizing  the  Calendar 

10.  Organizing  the  Finances 

11.  Organizing  the  School's  Relations: 

(a)  With  the  Church 

(b)  Internally 

(c)  Denominationally 

(d)  Neighbourhood 
Assignments 

IL         The  Official  Staff  .  •        .      35 

1.  The  Distribution  of  Jurisdiction 

2.  Classes  of  Officers 

3.  Officers  of  the  Church: 

(a)  The  Pastor 

(b)  The  Director  of  Religious  Edu- 

cation 

(c)  The  Superintendent 

4.  Officers  of  the  Council : 

(a)     The  Chairman 
{b)     The  Clerk 
(c)     The  Treasurer 

5.  Officers  of  Graded  Instruction 

6.  The  Executive  Staff: 

(a)  The  Associate 

(b)  The  Secretary 

(c)  The  Chorister 

(d)  The  Librarian 

7.  Assistant  Officers 

8.  The  Officer's  Pay 
Assignments 


10  CONTENTS 

III.        Divisions,  Departments  and  Classes      53 

1.  The  Teaching  Organization :  Early  ffis- 

tory 

2.  The  One-Lesson-for-All  Idea 

3.  Expanding  the  One-Room  School: 

(o)     Start  at  the  Beginning 

(b)  The  Five-Class  School 

(c)  The  Ten-Class  School 

4.  Groups  in  the  Larger  School 

5.  Departmental  Differences 

6.  The  Department  Without  a  Room 

7.  Features  of  Departmental  Organization: 

(a)  Children's  Division 

(b)  Young  People's  Division 

(c)  Adult  Division 

8.  Grades  and  Promotions : 

(a)  Yearly  Grading 

(b)  Departmental  Grading 

(c)  Promotions 

9.  Class  Organization 
Assignments 


IV.       The  Teaching  Staff.        ...      76 

1.  The  Ungraded  Teacher 

2.  Departmental  Specialization: 

(a)  Primary  Specialization 

(b)  In  the  Upper  School 
(f)     Consequences 

3.  Department  Principals : 

(a)  In  the  Children's  Division 

(b)  In  the  Upper  School 

4.  Departmental  Staffs 

5.  The  Substitute  Service: 

(a)  By  Staff  Organization 

(b)  By  Understudies 

(c)  By  Pupil-Teachers 

(d)  Regulations 

6.  Upper-Grade  Teaching: 

(a)  Exacting  Requirement's 

(b)  Compensating  Advantages 

(c)  The  Promotion  Problem 

(d)  Short-Course  Senior  Classes 

7.  Wanted,  a  Vacancy: 

(a)     Establish  the  Case 
(&)    Facilitate  Acceptance 


CONTENTS  U 

(c)  Provide  the  Succession 

(d)  Arrange  the  Alternative 
&    The  Teachers'  Meeting 

Assignments 


V.        The  Course  of  Study  and  Expression      97 

1.  The  Problem  of  Lesson-Choosing; 

(o)  An  Educational  Task 

(b)  Lessons  for  Adult  Convenience 

(c)  Lessons  for  Pupils'  Needs 

(d)  Establishing      the      Dominant 

Principle 

2.  Essentials  of  a  Course  of  Study: 

(a)  A  Tool  for  Character-Making 

(b)  A  Course,  Not  a  Field 

(c)  Features  of  a  School  Course 

3.  A  Church-School  Study  Course: 

(a)  A  Course  in  Religion 

(b)  A  Course  Given  Under  Diffi- 

culties 

(c)  Correlations 

(d)  Expectations 

4.  Lesson  Aims : 

(a)     Logical  and  Psychologic  Aims 
(6)     Aims  of  the  Graded  Lessons 
(c)     Administrative  Use  of  the  Aim 

5.  The  Course  of  Expression : 

(a)  Worship 

(b)  Expressive  Activities 

(c)  Expressive  Conduct 

(d)  Evangelism 

6.  Educational  Projects 

7.  Building  the  Curriculum : 

(a)  Introduction  of  Graded  Studies 

(b)  Selection  of  Course  Material 

(c)  Allowable  Teaching  Freedom 
Assignments 


VI.       The  School  and  the  Homes      .        .124 

I.    Church  Duty  to  the  Home: 

(a)    Home  the  Great  School  o£  Re- 
ligion 
(fe)     Religion  Moved  to  the  Church 
(c)     Origin  of  the  Home  Department 


12  CONTENTS 

j 

2.  Home  Service  to  the  Church  School:  i 

(a)  The  Self-Sufficient  Home  ] 

(b)  The  First  Step  a  Call  for  Serv-  | 

ice  I 

(c)  A  Scale  of  Home  Cooperation  ' 

3.  A  Home  Program  of  Religious  Educa- 

tion: I 

(a)     A  Wide  Scope 

(&)     Goals,  Not  Standards  I 

4.  Agencies  for  Reaching  the  Homes :  ! 

(a)  The  Pastor  as  Preacher 

(b)  The  Pastor  as  Visitor 

(c)  The  Cradle  Roll  \ 

(d)  The  Home  Department  j 

(e)  The  Organized  Adult  Class 

(/)     The  Parents'  Department  i 

5.  Training  for  Parenthood :  ] 

(a)  A  Community  Responsibility 

(b)  A  Task  for  the  Church  School  | 

(c)  A  Field  for  New  Endeavour  I 

6.  The  Department  of  the  Home:  I 

(a)  Elements  of  the  Combination  j 

(b)  Organization  and  Relationships  j 

(c)  Program  \  I 
Assignments 

Vli,      The  Building  and  Equipment    .        .144 

1.  Begin  Where  You  Are  j 

2.  The  Power  of  the  Wall  « 

3.  Makeshift  Housing:  ' 

(a)     The  Present  Situation 

(&)     The  Way  Out  ; 

4.  How  to  Plan  a  New  Building:  ! 

(a)  Emancipation  ,' 

(b)  Inherited  Limitations  i 

(c)  The  Starting-Point  ] 

5.  General  Principles :  ' 

(0)     Unity  { 

(b)  Efficiency  i 

(c)  Economy 

(d)  _  Suggestion  " 

6.  Provision  for  New  Features :  j 

(a)  Community  Responsibility  ', 

(b)  Professional  Service  ] 

(c)  Week-day  Instruction  | 

(d)  Visualization 

(e)  Play  and  Recreation 


CONTENTS                              13  j 

7.  Realization :  3 

(a)  Working  Out  the  Ideal 

(b)  Winning  a  Verdict 

(c)  Specifications,  Not  Plans 

(d)  Estimates  and  Adjustments  [ 

8.  An  Available  Building  Standard:  \ 

(a)  Origin  ; 

(b)  Form  1 

(c)  Mode  of  Application  ,' 

9.  A  Glimpse  of  the  Vision  ' 
Assignments  i 

VIII.    Training  for  Leadership  Service      .     170 

1.  The  Master  Task  ! 

2.  The  Size  of  the  Need : 

(a)  Vacancies  and  Losses  j 

(b)  General  Progress  i 

(c)  Overtaking  the  Deficit  j 

(d)  Completing  the  Course  ' 

(e)  A  Going  School  ; 

3.  Undergraduate  Training:  ; 

(a)  From  the  Beginning  ' 

(b)  Junior  Training  ' 

(c)  Intermediate  and  Senior  Train-  ■'. 

ing 

(d)  Entrance     Requirements     Ful-  i 

4.  The  Training  Curriculum  :  '] 

(a)  The  One- Year  Manual 

(b)  A  Superseded  Type  j 

(c)  The      Three -Year      Standard  j 

Course  ' 

(d)  Preliminary  Courses  ! 

5.  Supervised  Substitution : 

(a)  No  Premature  Interruptions 

(b)  Lower-Grade  Departmental  As-  ! 

signments  i 

(c)  In  the  Upper-Grade  Classes 

(d)  Other  Opportunities  i 

6.  The  Training  Department:  '; 

(a)  Its  Scope  1 

(b)  Its  Leader  ' 

(c)  Its  Members  and  Methods  ' 

(d)  Equipment 

7.  Training  Outside  the  School :  ,] 

(a)     Headquarters  Leadership 


U  C50NTENTS 

(b)  The       Community       Training 

School 

(c)  Summer  Schools  and  Reading 

Courses 

8.  The  Workers'  Conference 

9.  The  Wider  Outlook : 

(a)  In  the  School 

(b)  In  the  Church 

(c)  Life  Service 

(d)  Reciprocity 
Assignments 


IX.        The  Yearly  Program         .        .        ,     197 

1.  The  Annual  Goal: 

(a)  Not  Sessions  but  Years 
(6)     When  Shall  the  Year  Begin? 
(c)     A  Goal  for  Every  Work 

2.  Promotions : 

(o)     Remaking  the  Graded  Roll 

(b)  The  Policy  of  No  Demotions 

(c)  Promotion  Day  Suggestions  j 

3.  Appointments  and  Installations :  < 

(a)  The  Principle  '     ^ 

(b)  Method  of  Application  ] 
(f)     Installations 

4.  The  General  Officers'  Year: 

(a)  When  Shall  This  Begin? 

(b)  Elections  and  Appointments 

(c)  Installations  ; 

(d)  Annual  Reports  \ 

5.  The  Annual  Budget 

6.  The  Festival  Calendar:  | 

(a)     Forestall  Worry  ] 

(&)     Departmentalize 

(c)  Use  the  Young  Folks  ' 

(d)  Use  the  Graded  Work  , 

(e)  Make  the  Music  Count  ' 

7.  Picnics  and  Outings 

8.  The  Ordering  of  Supplies 

9.  The  Workers'  Conference  Calendar 
10.     Finding  Time  for  All  This: 

(a)  Fix  a  Routine 

(b)  The  Seven  Hours 

(c)  A  Constructive  Program 
Assignments 


CONTENTS  15 

X,  The  School's  Religion      .        ,        .    226 

1.  A  School  of  Religion : 

(a)     Education  for  Holiness 
(6)     Education  for  Service 
(c)     Graded  Religion 

2.  Child  Religion: 

(a)     Love  and  Obedience 
'  (b)     Child- Lessons  in  Religion 

(c)     The  Administrator's  Part 
(rf)     Junior  Religion 

3.  The  Religion  of  Youth : 

(a)     At  the  Place  of  Decision 

(£>)     Idealism 

(c)     Service  as  Religious  Expression 

4.  The  Religion  of  Later  Adolescf^nce : 

(a)  Organization    for    Educational 

Serv'ice 

(b)  Faith,    Fellowship,    Dedication 

5.  Adult  Religious  Education 

6.  The  Religion  of  the  School : 

(a)  The  School's  Need  of  Religion 

(b)  Religion  as  Personal  Life 

(c)  Religion  as  Relationship 

(d)  Religion  as  Service 

7.  The  Service  of  Worship : 

(a)  Significance  of  School  Worship 

(b)  Magnifying  the  Worship  Period 

(c)  The  Reverent  Opening  of  Wor- 

ship 

8.  The  Call  to  Confess  Christ 

9.  Is  Ours  a  Religious  School? 
Assignments 

Appendices 249 

Bibliography 261 

Index 265 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  ORGANIZED 

1.    Why  Organize? 

Whatever  service  we  may  desire  our  church  school 
to  render,  it  must  be  organized  if  the  service  is  to  be 
rendered  surely  and  well. 

Poor  organization  shows  in  a  dependence  on  the 
initiative  of  the  leader.  He  thinks  of  everything, 
tells  everybody  what  to  do,  announces  or  signals  his 
©rder  for  every  act  and  performs  most  of  the  acts 
himself.  In  contrast,  a  well  organized  school  has 
every  act  and  function  provided  for.  The  school  runs 
"  like  a  machine," — except  that  its  members  are  alive, 
intelligent  and  enthusiastic  in  taking  the  parts  as- 
signed them,  and  the  "  machine  "  has  the  capacity  for 
growth  and  self-direction. 

Every  step  toward  better  organization  releases  for 
profitable  service  some  force  that  previously  was  con- 
sumed in  the  task  of  running  the  machine.  Of  these 
forces  the  most  valuable  is  the  initiative  of  the  leader. 
In  an  unorganized  school  this  is  all  expended  in  the 
maintenance  of  routine.  Such  a  school  is  said  to  be 
"in  the  ruts."  Better  organization  releases  this 
power  and  enables  the  leader  to  seek  the  higher  life 
of  the  school. 

The  wise  leader,  therefore,  will  constantly  study 
17 


18     CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

the  workings  of  his  school,  both  those  under  his  own 
hand  and  those  already  committed  to  others^  with  a 
view  to  making  every  such  working,  as  far  as  may 
be,  automatic  through  organization. 

2.     Organizing  the  Session. 

The  first  feature,  ordinarily,  to  need  organization 
is  the  order  of  service  for  the  Sunday-school  session. 
Steps  to  that  end  will  be : 

(a)  Provision  of  separate  assembly  rooms,  as 
soon  as  may  be,  for  each  of  the  departments  of  the 
Children's  Division,  and  permission  for  these  depart- 
ments to  plan  and  hold  separate  services  for  the  full 
time  of  the  school's  session.  (Chapters  III  and  VII.) 
Extension  of  this  arrangement  to  any  older  class  that 
desires  to  meet  separately  for  all  or  part  of  the  service 
time.  The  responsibility  for  results  in  such  case 
should  be  left  with  the  class. 

(b)  Division  of  the  whole  time  into  periods,  each 
with  its  own  plan  and  culmination,  like  an  act  in  a 
drama.     These  will  naturally  be : 

(i)  The  assembly  period,  from  door-opening  to 
the  hour  of  beginning.  The  janitor  must  have  a  rule 
as  to  the  opening  of  the  doors  and  must  be  made  re- 
sponsible for  order  until  some  appointee  arrives  to 
whom  the  leadership  shall  pass.  For  the  assigned 
minutes  of  this  period  a  sequence  of  steps  must  be 
established,  leading  up  to  the  call  to  order. 

(2)  The  period  of  worship,  covering  the  first 
minutes  of  the  session.     (Chapter  X.) 

(3)  The  period  of  desk  instruction.  (Sec.  9  of 
this  chapter.) 

(4)  The  period  of  class  instruction. 

(5)  The  period  of  closing.  The  tendency  to-day 
is  to  transfer  this  period  to  the  separate  class  ses- 
sions, allowing  each  class  to  finish  its  work  and  ad- 


ORGANIZATION  19 

journ  with  a  prayer,  whether  in  its  own  room  or  on, 
the  main  floor.  In  some  church  schools  the  inter- 
mediate classes  occupy  the  main  floor,  all  others 
having  separate  rooms ;  and  the  closing  period  is  used 
by  the  department  principal  as  his  platform  time. 
(Chapter  III.) 

(6)  The  period  of  dismissal,  ending  with  the  lock- 
ing of  the  doors. 

(c)  Provision  of  an  order  for  each  period  of  the 
program,  with  responsible  conductors  and  partici- 
pants. 

(d)  Publication  of  these  orders,  by  printing,  post- 
ing or  drilling  from  the  platform,  so  that  all  will 
know  and  take  their  proper  parts. 

(e)  Training  of  the  various  assistants  to  perform 
their  parts  in  proper  sequence,  with  observance  of  the 
time  schedule  and  in  a  spirit  of  worship  and  con- 
sideration of  the  end  in  view.     (Chapter  II.) 

3.     Organizing  the  Pupils. 

School  children  are  of  many  ages  and  capacities. 
Each  of  these  has  its  characteristic  needs.  While  in- 
dividuals vary  widely,  it  is  possible  to  strike  a  de- 
pendable average  for  the  capacity  and  need  of  a 
particular  age,  and  on  this  average  to  base  a  particular 
method  for  the  instruction  and  training  of  the  group 
of  pupils  who  may  be  assigned  to  the  work  of  this 
age.  This  organizes  the  continuous  nurture  of  the 
child  into  a  series  of  steps  or  grades.  Dividing  the 
pupils  thus,  in  order  to  the  better  meeting  of  their 
respective  needs,  is  the  first  step  in  the  grading  of  a 
school. 

In  the  school  of  the  home  the  nurture  must  remain 
continuous,  expanding  steadily  with  each  child's  ex- 
panding powers  and  needs.    It  will  also  be  a  different 


20      CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION" 

nurture  for  each  individual  child.  In  the  school  of 
the  community,  however,  or  of  the  church,  grade- 
grouping  is  necessary,  in  order  to  meet,  at  all  stages 
of  growth,  those  needs  of  all  the  pupils  for  which  the 
particular  school  is  responsible. 

Punctuating  the  otherwise  steady  growth  of  the 
child's  powers  from  infancy  to  maturity  are  certain 
times  of  transition  from  one  stage  to  the  next.  Some 
of  these,  like  teeth-cutting  and  puberty,  are  physi- 
ological and  fairly  constant  for  humanity  generally. 
Others  depend  more  or  less  on  our  social  and  educa- 
tional customs.  It  is  manifestly  desirable,  in  the  in- 
terest of  a  unified  education  for  each  child,  that  the 
standard  educational  breaks  and  transitions  of  the 
community  system  and  of  the  church  system  shall 
agree. 

With  the  help  of  these  transition  epochs,  a  series  of 
periods  may  be  established  for  any  school,  by  means 
of  which  all  the  pupils  of  any  three  or  four  years  can 
be  rationally  grouped  together  for  mass  leadership  in 
worship,  instruction  and  activities.  These  will  then 
be  the  departments  of  that  school.  The  single-year 
groups  within  the  departments  will  ordinarily  consti- 
tute the  grades.  The  advantages  of  a  standard  basis 
of  grading  and  departmentalization  are  obvious.  All 
week-day  schools  acknowledge  the  need  of  this  or- 
ganizing of  the  pupils.  The  church  schools,  with 
equal  need,  are  now  rapidly  falling  into  line. 

The  standard  grades,  departments  and  divisions,  as 
recognized  by  the  InternationJul  Sunday-school  Asso- 
ciation and  the  denominational  agencies  of  religious 
education,  are: 


ORGANIZATION  21 

Qiildren's  Division : 

Cradle  Roll,  birth  to  three  years. 
Beginners,  four  and  five. 
Primary,  six,  seven  and  eight. 
Junior,  nine,  ten  and  eleven.* 

Young  People's  Division: 

Intermediate,  twelve,  thirteen  and  fourteen. 
Senior,  fifteen,  sixteen  and  seventeen. 
Young    People,    eighteen    to    twenty-three    or 
twenty- four. 

Adult  Division: 

Adults,  from  twenty-four  up ;  including  parents' 
classes  and  adult  members  of  the  Home  De- 
partment.' 

Steps  to  be  taken  in  thus  organizing  the  pupils 
will  be: 

(a)  Without  regard  to  classes,  determine  the 
proper  grade  of  each  pupil  up  to  and  including  seven- 
teen years,  recording  this  on  a  graded  roll.  This 
should,  of  course,  be  done  with  the  cooperation  of 
those  who  know  the  pupils  well.  Consider  first  age, 
then  public  school  grade  if  available,  then  size,  home 
conditions  and  other  special  characteristics  of  the 
case.  The  older  the  pupil,  the  greater  the  probability 
of  error  in  following  age  alone. 

•*  The  Junior  Department  was  formerly  recognized  as 
consisting  of  four  yearly  grades,  from  nine  to  twelve.  Many 
church  schools  are  still  so  organized.  The  official  steps  in 
the  transition  from  the  four-year  to  the  three-year  basis  have 
not  yet  all  been  taken ;  nor  has  final  action  been  taken  on 
the  names  of  the  divisions  as  here  given. 

*  There  is  also  a  School  Administration  Division,  including 
the  general  officers  of  the  church  school. 


22      CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

(b)  By  shifts  and  reorganizations,  as  opportunity 
offers,  adjust  the  present  class  system  of  the  school 
so  that  each  class  shall  stand  for  one  or  more  grades 
of  boys  or  girls.  In  a  school  of  200  members  or 
more,  each  class  can  stand  for  one  grade  only;  but 
where  the  school  is  smaller  pupils  of  two  or  even 
three  grades  may  have  to  be  taught  in  one  class. 
Make  transfers  by  invitation  to  those  to  be  trans- 
ferred, from  the  pupils  of  the  class  to  which  they  are 
to  go;  the  teachers  concerned  having  previously 
agreed  to  the  arrangement.  This  smooths  the  trans- 
action. Such  transfers  should  happen  informally 
from  time  to  time,  until  the  closest  possible  harmony 
between  the  class  system  and  the  grade  system  has 
been  secured. 

(c)  Fix  the  annual  day  of  promotion.  This  is 
ordinarily  the  last  Sunday  in  September,  just  before 
the  opening  of  the  graded  lesson  courses  on  the  first 
Sunday  in  October. 

(d)  Advertise  the  grades  in  every  possible  way; 
thus  arousing  the  pupils'  ambition  to  prove  them- 
selves woidiy  of  promotion  by  the  faithful  doing  of 
this  year's  assigned  work. 

(e)  Enlist  all,  especially  the  older  pupils,  in  sup- 
port of  this  system,  by  showing  them  that  in  this  way 
only  can  the  grades  be  annually  renewed  and  main- 
tained and  each  pupil  given  his  fair  share  of  what  the 
school  has  to  offer. 


4.     Organizing  the  Teachers. 

The  separation  of  the  pupils  into  these  grades  and 
departments  carries  with  it  a  like  separation  among 
the  teachers,  with  the  need  of  a  principal  teacher  at 
the  head  of  each  department.  Good  work  also  will 
demand  in  most  of  the  departments  the  organizing  of 
a  staff  of  assistants.     No  single  operation  in  the  or- 


OEGANIZATION  23 

ganizing  of  a  church  school  does  more  to  relieve  the 
leader  of  detail  than  the  placing  of  a  department 
under  the  care  of  a  competent  principal  and  then 
dealing  with  those  classes  through  this  principal 
only. 

From  the  time  (about  1820)  when  the  "  infant 
Sunday  school "  was  introduced  in  America,  it  has 
been  the  rule  that  the  smaller  children  should  be 
grouped  into  an  "  infant  class  "  or  "  primary  depart- 
ment," with  a  separate  and  permanent  teacher,  who 
usually  handled  in  one  class-group  all  or  most  of  the 
ages  now  comprised  in  the  Children's  Division.  This 
permanency  of  the  primary  teacher  tended  to  her 
constant  educational  growth  and  gave  her  a  standing 
above  the  teachers  in  the  main  room;  because  they 
moved  along  from  year  to  year  with  the  natural 
growth  of  their  classes  and  so  were  unable  to  profit 
by  the  increase  of  teaching  material  for  the  use  of 
successive  classes  or  by  experience  in  its  use. 

The  modem  church  school  extends  this  advantage 
to  all  the  teachers,  by  attaching  them  to  one  depart- 
ment, sometimes  to  one  yearly  grade,  and  by  provid- 
ing for  the  promotion  of  the  pupils,  singly  or  as  a 
class,  at  the  end  of  each  year  to  the  next  higher  grade, 
and  at  the  end  of  each  department  period  to  the  next 
higher  department.  The  teacher  in  the  latter  case  is 
assigned,  ordinarily,  to  one  of  the  new  classes  enter- 
ing from  below. 

5.     Organizing  the  Officers. 

Besides  the  pupils  and  the  teachers  with  their  prin- 
cipals, the  church  school  needs  certain  officers  for 


24      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

service  to  the  school  as  a  whole.  These,  with  the 
matters  appropriate  to  their  respective  trusts,  are  now 
by  the  International  standards  of  classification 
counted  as  the  Division  of  School  Administration, 
both  in  the  local  school  and  in  the  field  work  pertain- 
ing thereto. 

In  a  well-organized  church  school  each  of  these 
officers  (Chapter  II)  has  been  assigned  his  precise 
responsibility  and  trained  to  the  efficient  performance 
of  it.  He  has  been  given  in  his  jurisdiction  freedom 
to  do  the  work  in  his  own  way  and  encouraged  to 
originality  and  progress.  The  process  of  annual  elec- 
tion or  appointment  has  been  so  established  that  each 
officer  responsible  for  the  work  of  an  officer  below 
him  is  free,  if  he  wishes,  to  nominate  one  of  his  own 
choice  for  the  place;  this  choice  being  subject  to  con- 
firmation by  those  who  must  work  with  and  under 
such  nominee  for  the  year.  Such  a  system  of  reports, 
also,  has  been  established  that  every  work  is  exhibited 
in  detail  to  those  concerned,  to  be  praised  or  censured 
as  it  may  be  found  good  or  ill. 

6.     Organizing  Membership  Increase. 

No  feature  of  church-school  work  is  more  in 
need  of  good  organization  than  the  process  by  which 
new  members  are  recruited,  received,  trained  and  in- 
spired with  the  school's  ideals;  and  nowhere  in  the 
school  is  the  need  of  good  organization,  ordinarily, 
more  completely  overlooked.  Ten  superintendents 
are  concerned  with  the  work  of  gaining  new  members 
for  every  one  who  gives  a  thought  to  what  must  be 
done  after  the  new  members  enter  the  school. 


OEGAMZATION  26 

Instead,  therefore,  of  spending  one's  whole  effort 
on  the  launching  of  an  elaborate  membership  contest, 
with  no  further  or  higher  goal  than  a  record  of  in- 
creased numbers,  it  is  better  to  organize  thus : 

(o)  Stimulate  regular  and  punctual  attendance, 
to  get  more  and  better  work  done  for  and  by  those 
already  enrolled. 

(b)  Determine  what  should  be  the  maximum  size 
of  each  class  and  department,  in  order  to  make  full 
use  of  present  available  resources  in  teachers,  seats 
and  room-space,  without  loss  of  efficiency  through 
crowding  and  interruptions,  and  without  disarranging 
the  proper  proportions  of  the  departments  and  grades. 
This  will  show  what  vacancies  there  are  to  be  filled  by 
recruiting. 

(c)  Plan  increases  in  the  force  of  officers  and 
teachers  along  with  increases  in  the  number  of  pupils. 
Plan  also  to  train  the  new  official  recruits  in  the  duties 
to  which  they  are  to  be  assigned. 

(d)  Establish  a  school  register,  with  a  system  for 
receiving,  enrolling  and  assigning  each  new  pupil  and 
for  keeping  his  record  up  to  date.  The  system  should 
include  a  fixed  procedure  for  following  up  irregular 
pupils  and  those  who  have  left  the  school.  Make  it 
impossible  to  enter  the  school  except  through  proper 
registry  and  assignment,  and  hard  to  get  out  except 
through  orderly  dismissal  to  another  school. 

(e)  Build  up  the  fellowship  spirit  of  the  school, 
so  that  all  who  ever  attend  will  want  to  belong;  and 
improve  the  teaching,  so  that  all  who  belong  will  wish 
to  continue  receiving  such  good  instruction. 

(/)  Make  the  recruiting  of  new  members,  where 
such  can  be  received,  part  of  the  school's  missionary 
service,  in  which  all  are  urged  to  engage ;  and,  in  ad- 
dition, conduct  from  time  to  time  a  systematic  can- 
vass. 


26      CHUECHSCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

7.     Organizing  the  Course  of  Study. 

The  organizing  of  the  pupils  into  grades,  more  or 
less  closely  represented  by  the  classes,  and  the  teach- 
ers into  department  faculties,  opens  the  way  for  the 
corresponding  organization  of  the  materials  of  in- 
struction. 

The  American  Sunday  school,  in  the  course  of  its 
evolution  into  the  church  school  of  to-day,  passed  for 
most  of  the  denominations  through  a  forty-year  age 
(1872-1912)  of  lesson  uniformity,  during  which  time 
it  was  the  accepted  idea  that  the  material  for  study 
should  be  the  same  for  every  class  and  age  in  the 
school,  that  this  material  should  consist  of  a  selected 
Bible  passage  some  ten  or  twelve  verses  long,  with  a 
"  golden  text "  and  other  accessories,  and  that  the 
adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  different  ages  should  be 
secured  by  a  more  or  less  radical  process  of  selection 
and  adapted  treatment  for  each  department,  age  and 
class. 

The  long  struggle  for  lesson  gradation,  in  and  out 
of  the  fellowship  of  those  who  stood  together  in  sup- 
port of  this  principle,  has  now  brought  us  to  where 
all,  apparently,  concede  the  reasonableness  of  grading 
the  material  as  well  as  the  method  of  the  lessons; 
though  a  large  minority  of  the  Sunday  schools  still 
use  the  uniform  lesson  supplies.  It  is  hard  to  see 
how  any  one  can  accept  the  general  principle  of  this 
chapter  and  not  agree  that  the  first  step  in  organizing 
the  studies  of  the  school  will  be  to  give  each  depart- 
ment, and  presumably  also  each  yearly  grade,  its  own 
lessons ;  each  course  being  chosen  with  an  eye  single 
to  the  spiritual  and  other  needs  of  the  pupils  using  it. 


ORGANIZATION  27 

and  therefore  chosen  without  reference  to  what  other 
classes  with  other  needs  may  be  studying  at  the  same 
time.     (Chapter  V.) 

8.     Organizing  the  Music. 

Unorganized  music  in  the  church  school  is  that 
which  is  chosen  and  given  out  by  random  and  usually 
hasty  selection,  on  the  theory  that  we  must  sing  some- 
thing, that  it  should  always  be  lively  and  inspiring, 
that  any  playing  by  the  pianist  is  mere  filling-in,  and 
that  there  is  no  connection  between  the  educational 
and  spiritual  purpose  of  the  school  and  the  music  that 
forms  so  conspicuous  a  feature  of  the  sessions.  On 
this  theory,  of  course,  any  superintendent  may  be  the 
school's  musical  leader ;  and  no  organization  is  called  i' 
for  beyond  a  supply  of  hymn-books  and  some  pro- 
vision for  starting  the  tune. 

When,  however,  we  consider  that  religious  educa- 
tion includes  the  nurture  of  emotions  as  well  as  of 
ideas,  that  music  is  part  of  the  language  of  emotion, 
and  that  character  is  shaped  and  decision  arrived  at, 
in  numberless  instances,  under  the  spell  of  musical 
influence,  we  see  that  apart  from  the  idea-value  of 
the  words  of  our  hymns,  the  emotional  value  of  our 
church-school  singing  is  an  educational  force  that  it 
is  a  sin  to  squander.  The  words  have  value  chiefly  in 
giving  to  the  tune  its  intended  emotional  force; 
though,  of  course,  they  often  carry  their  own  message 
as  well. 

In  organizing  the  music  the  leader  will  provide  the 
school  with  a  hymn-book  edited  in  conformity  with 
the  educational   conception  of  worship-music.     He 


28     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

will  seek  a  chorister  and  an  accompanist  who  accept 
this  principle  and  arc  competent  to  interpret  the 
music  to  be  used.  He  will  then  plan  his  programs 
of  worship  with  a  view  to  the  use  of  every  hymn  and 
musical  number  in  leading  the  school  along  some  pur- 
posed line  of  emotional  expression.  Sometimes  this 
will  be  lively  and  enthusiastic;  at  other  times  it  will 
be  prayerful,  penitent,  grateful,  trustful,  or  sympa- 
thetic with  the  needs  or  the  sorrows  of  others. 

It  is  not  easy  to  make  choices  like  these,  or  to  find 
choristers  able  to  interpret  and  carry  out  such  a  pol- 
icy. But  our  professional  training  schools  are  begin- 
ning to  send  forth  leaders  able  to  follow  the  vision 
and  show  it  to  others;  and  as  the  courses  given  in 
community  training  schools  on  the  ministry  of  music 
in  religious  education  are  multiplied,  we  may  hope 
for  an  increase  in  local  workers  qualified  to  help  the 
superintendent  in  the  organizing  of  the  music  of  the 
church  school. 

9.    Organizing  the  Calendar. 

In  the  days  of  uniform  lesson  procedure  each  su- 
perintendent was  supplied  with  a  ready-made  calen- 
dar for  his  weekly  and  yearly  platform  work.  There 
was  always  a  "  lesson  for  the  day."  This  calendar 
also  furnished  each  quarter  a  lesson  on  temperance 
and  took  note  of  Christmas,  Easter  and  a  few  other 
occasions.  Many  of  the  older  superintendents  feel 
lost  without  this  well-remembered  guidance. 

Now,  however,  with  graded  lessons  in  many  if  not 
all  of  the  main-room  classes,  each  leader  must  draft 
a  calendar  of  his  own.     He  must  look  ahead,  plan  for 


OEGANIZATION  29 

the  due  observance  of  such  festivals  as  the  school 
should  celebrate  and  for  whatever  preparations  these 
will  call  for,  pay  reasonable  attention  to  the  minor 
dates  and  special  Sundays,  and  fill  the  dates  not  other- 
wise covered  with  topics  of  his  own  choosing;  thus 
providing  for  every  Sunday  in  the  school's  year  an 
appropriate  and  helpful  lesson  for  the  day.  Around 
this  lesson,  whether  seasonal,  churchly,  evangelistic, 
missionary.  Biblical  or  generally  didactic,  he  may 
group  his  prayers,  reading  selection,  story,  brief  talk, 
and  one  or  two  hymns ;  thus  securing  for  the  school's 
main  assembly  that  unity  of  sessional  emphasis  that 
was  formerly  supposed  to  be  given  by  the  uniform 
Bible  lesson.     (Chapter  IX.) 

Back  of  the  public  calendar  of  festivals  and  Sun- 
day services  will  be  the  manager's  calendar  of  edu- 
cational enterprises  to  be  undertaken,  goals  to  be  at- 
tained and  responsibilities  to  be  taken  up  and  assigned 
or  personally  discharged,  each  in  due  season.  Before 
the  year  begins,  the  executive  must  work  out  his 
projects,  discuss  them  with  his  fellow-workers  and 
fix  plans  of  cooperation  for  making  each  a  success. 
In  the  superintendent's  note-book  will  then  be  re- 
corded the  dates  when  the  various  steps  in  prepara- 
tion for  each  of  these  must  be  taken.  The  superin- 
tendent who  sets  apart  some  time  each  week  for  work 
on  that  which  lies  beyond  next  Sunday  will  come 
somewhere  near  the  attainment  of  his  yearly  goal. 

10.    Organizing  the  Finances. 

Good  education  costs  money ;  and  it  is  worth  pay- 
ing for.     The  easy  way  to  finance  a  church  school  is 


30     CHUECH  SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

to  do  without  any  but  the  cheapest  and  most  meager 
equipment  and  coin  the  interest  of  those  engaged  in 
the  work  to  pay  for  it.  In  such  a  school  the  bare 
idea  of  paying  money  for  a  teacher's  or  a  leader's 
service  is  regarded  with  horror  as  treason  to  the  high 
principle  of  voltmtary  service  on  which  our  Sunday- 
school  traditions  have  been  built.  Nearly  equal 
shock  is  felt  if  it  is  proposed  to  expend  any  but  the 
merest  dole  on  the  attendance  of  one  or  more  of  the 
teachers  at  a  summer  school  or  other  opportunity  for 
intensive  training. 

A  church  school  cannot  afford  to  run  on  principles 
like  these.  The  financial  side  of  its  life  must  be  or- 
ganized as  carefully  as  its  lessons.  By  successive 
steps,  educational  and  diplomatic,  the  leader  must 
(a)  enlarge  its  budget,  economizing  on  outgo  that  is 
educationally  unproductive  and  increasing  outlay  on 
that  which  will  count,  (b)  convince  the  church  that 
it  cannot  afford  to  let  its  school  remain  financially 
independent,  and  cause  the  annual  school  budget  to 
be  added  to  the  general  budget  of  the  church,  (c)  in- 
terest his  force,  teachers  and  pupils,  in  increasing 
their  regular  or  special  contributions  to  direct  local 
church  support  and  the  church-approved  benevolent 
causes,  so  that  the  church  officers  may  feel  that  their 
adoption  of  their  own  school  was  a  good  investment, 
and  (d)  set  before  each  class  and  department  and  the 
school  as  a  whole  an  inspiring  set  of  choices  for  their 
giving  service,  so  that  the  school's  giving  shall  in  all 
its  aspects  be  an  educational  and  a  character-building 
feature  of  the  work. 

So  organized,  the  income  side  of  the  school's  life 


OEGANIZATION  31 

will  prosper.  Its  outgo  side  must  be  organized  with 
equal  care.  Each  department  and  officer  must  be 
ready  in  season  with  his  detailed  estimate  of  expense 
for  the  year  soon  to  begin.  With  the  help  of  these  a 
finance  committee  will  draw  up  the  annual  budget. 
This  fixed,  the  superintendent  will  notify  each  subor- 
■dinate  of  the  amount  of  his  credit  and  how  it  is  to  be 
drawn  on.  The  treasurer  will  apportion  general  bills 
to  the  accounts  to  which  they  should  be  charged,  and 
from  time  to  time  he  will  report  to  the  workers' 
council  how  the  accounts  stand.  A  rule  for  making 
payments  from  the  treasury  will  be  adopted  and  lived 
up  to.  In  reporting  for  the  year  to  the  superintend- 
ent, each  department  head  will  be  asked  to  state  how 
much  money  was  spent  by  his  department  during  the 
year,  and  what  the  work  got  for  it.  If  all  drafts  are 
made  directly  on  the  church  treasury,  these  rudi- 
mentary rules  of  sound  business  practice  must  be 
even  more  carefully  observed.    - 

11.  Organizing  the  School's  Relations, 
(a)  With  the  Church. — No  church  school  can 
afford  to  live  its  life  alone.  It  must  be  actually,  not 
nominally,  a  living  part  of  the  church  it  serves.  Be- 
sides the  financial  connection  just  described,  there 
must  be  an  educational  relationship.  The  church, 
through  its  highest  governing  authority,  must  assume 
responsibility  for  the  school's  work,  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  superintendent  or  the  director  of  relig- 
ious education  who  is  to  have  charge  of  its  adminis- 
tration for  the  year,  and  by  a  loving  and  practical 
interest  in  its  work  and  needs.    The  best  way  for  the 


32     CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

church  to  discharge  this  responsibility  will  be  through 
a  small,  competent  and  active  committee  on  educa- 
tion, constituting  a  "  school  board  "  for  the  parish. 

(b)  Internally,  the  relations  of  the  workers  must 
be  established.  The  teachers  having  been  separated 
into  departments  and  divisions,  they  must  also,  with 
the  officers  and  heads  of  the  older  classes,  be  united 
in  a  school  body,  the  Workers'  Council,  whose 
monthly  conferences  will  develop  unity,  zeal  for 
progress  and  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  welfare 
of  the  school  as  a  whole. 

(c)  Denominationally,  the  school  must  be  trained 
in  loyalty  to  the  fellowship  of  school  service  for 
which  its  denominational  board,  society  or  agency  of 
religious  education  stands.  It  must  be  led  to  give 
first  consideration  to  the  standards  and  programs  of 
its  duly  constituted  leaders  in  the  body  to  which  its 
church  belongs.  Whatever  quotas  or  tasks  are  set 
before  it  should  be  accepted  as  a  challenge  and  wher- 
ever possible  met  or  exceeded. 

(d)  With  equal  fidelity  should  the  church  school 
acknowledge  and  discharge  its  neighbourhood  obliga- 
tions to  the  fellowship  of  Christian  schools  in  the 
township,  county  or  other  community  unit  of  which 
it  is  a  part.  Its  report  should  be  furnished  when 
called  for  by  the  secretary  of  the  county  association ; 
its  fair  share  of  the  expense  of  the  united  work 
should  be  promptly  met ;  and  at  every  convention  its 
delegates  should  appear.  Whether  the  school  be 
large  or  small,  needy  or  splendidly  equipped,  it  can- 
not afford  to  neglect  the  gains  of  this  relationship  or 
the  duty  of  rendering  this  service.     By  the  firm  es- 


OEGANIZATION  33 

tablishment  of  these  local  relations  we  begin  that  re- 
building of  the  undivided  religious  community  with- 
out which  the  blessings  of  an  adequate  education  in 
religion  for  American  childhood  and  youth  will  be 
forever  beyond  our  reach. 

Assignments 
The  numbers  refer  to  the  section  numbers  in  the 
text. 

If  not  yourself  a  superintendent,  take  a  school  of 
which  you  know  something  and  answer  as  to  that 
school,  estimating  or  imagining  where  you  cannot 
supply  the  facts. 

1.  Name  a  few  symptoms  of  low-grade  organ- 
ization that  you  have  seen  in  a  Sunday  school. 

2.  Outline  your  school's  service  as  usually  con- 
ducted, giving  the  time  when  the  periods  begin  and 
indicating  briefly  what  is  done  in  each  period. 

3.  Write  from  memory,  in  one  column,  the  list  of 
standard  grades  and  ages  as  here  given;  and  along- 
side it  show  how  the  departments  and  grades  are  now 
arranged  in  your  school. 

4.  Give  reasons  why  a  teacher  should  stay  in  the 
department  when  the  class  is  promoted  to  the  next 
department.  (If  you  do  not  consider  this  a  good 
rule,  give  also  the  reasons  against  it.) 

5.  Why,  and  how  far,  should  an  officer  be  free  to 
work  in  his  own  way  ? 

6.  Outline  a  plan  of  campaign  for  an  increase  of 
your  school's  membership,  showing,  in  a  few  lines, 
the  order  of  the  steps  to  be  taken. 

7.  In  parallel  columns,  write  the  advantages  of 


34     CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

uniformity  in  lesson  material  and  the  advantages  of 
material  chosen  independently  for  each  grade. 

8.  (i)  What  hymn-book  is  used  in  your  school? 
When  was  it  introduced?  How  does  the  supply  of 
good  copies  compare  with  the  need?  (2)  Name  a 
few  hymns  recently  sung  in  the  school,  from  which 
you  feel  that  a  religious  benefit  was  derived.  What 
benefit  ? 

9.  (i)  Which  festivals  does  your  school  observe? 
How  do  you  observe  Christmas?  (2)  W^hat  gains  do 
you  notice  from  the  Christmas  observances?  What 
costs,  in  time,  attention,  feelings  and  money?  (3) 
Who  carry  the  Christmas  responsibility?  How  and 
when  are  they  appointed?  (4)  Write,  in  a  column, 
the  dates  of  the  Sundays  for  the  next  calendar  quar- 
ter; and  against  these  see  how  many  appropriate 
topics  you  can  set  as  the  desk  lesson  topic  in  your 
school  for  that  Sunday. 

10.  (i)  Draw  up,  from  memory  and  estimation, 
last  year's  budget  of  expense  for  your  school;  or 
sketch  a  budget  covering  all  real  needs  for  next  year. 
In  so  doing,  classify  the  expenditures  in  such  a  way 
that  the  school  and  the  church  can  both  see  how  far 
each  feature  of  expense  is  justified  by  results.  (2) 
Draft  a  by-law  to  govern  the  treasurer  in  making 
payments  for  school  expense.  (3)  How  are  your 
school's  expenses  covered?  (4)  Describe  your  plans 
for  benevolent  giving.  When  and  how  are  gifts 
made?  To  what  objects?  How  far  have  classes  and 
departments  a  say  as  to  where  their  gifts  shall  go? 

11.  Of  the  four  relationships  named,  which  are 
well  organized  in  your  school  ? 


II 

THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF 

1.    The  Distribution  of  Jurisdiction. 

The  first  task  before  the  executive  head  of  a 
church  school  is  to  secure  a  clear  and  detailed  vision 
of  what  his  school  ought  to  be.  To  aid  the  student 
in  gaining  such  a  vision  was  the  aim  of  Chapter  I. 
Next  in  importance  is  the  task  of  completely  distrib- 
uting his  own  managerial  jurisdiction. 

A  manager's  jurisdiction  is  like  an  estate  in  the 
hands  of  an  executor.  At  the  outset  of  the  trust  it 
is  all  his  own.  By  one  act  after  another  debts  are 
settled,  claims  collected,  properties  liquidated,  lega- 
cies paid  and  distributions  effected,  until  at  last  the 
trust  is  wound  up  and  the  executor  discharged.  So 
the  superintendent  at  the  outset  of  his  year  may 
properly  charge  himself  with  full  responsibility. 
Rapidly,  however,  he  will  arrange  with  one  worker 
after  another  as  to  what  that  worker's  special  re- 
sponsibility is  to  be.  When  this  process  has  been 
completed,  the  entire  estate  will  have  been  dis- 
tributed, except  that  definite  round  of  labour  by 
which  he,  a  worker  among  workers,  shares  tlie  serv- 
ice of  the  cause. 

When  this  task  is  well  performed,  not  only  does 
the  school  run  smoothly  (Chap.  I,  Sec.  i),  but  every 
officer  and  teacher,  and  every  pupil  entrusted  v'ith 

35 


36     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

any  responsibility,  has  been  given  a  strong  motive  for 
doing  his  own  particular  task  faithfully  and  well. 
This  chapter  aims  to  study  the  official  force  of  the 
church  school  with  reference  to  the  effective  appli- 
cation of  the  principle  of  distributed  jurisdiction. 
The  teaching  force,  while  not  here  excluded,  will  be 
more  carefully  studied  in  later  chapters. 

2.    Classes  of  Officers. 

No  satisfactory  entuneration  of  the  officers  of  the 
church  school  can  be  made  while  we  think  of  them 
as  a  single  class  over  against  the  pupils  and  the 
teachers.  Still  less  is  it  possible  thus  to  discuss  their 
functions  and  related  responsibilities.  Each  officer 
has  a  work  to  do  which  is  vitally  related  to  the  work 
of  others ;  and  before  we  can  profitably  consider  the 
work  we  must  take  account  of  the  relations.  The  mo- 
ment we  do  this,  we  perceive  that  there  are  distinct 
classes  of  church-school  officers  and  that  we  must 
consider  each  class  in  turn. 

A  classification  of  the  officers  needed  in  the  well 
organized  church  school,  if  based  on  the  nature  of 
the  relations  sustained,  will  be  as  follows : 

(a)  Officers  of  the  church  in  the  church  school. 

(b)  Officers  of  the  board  or  council  of  the 
school. 

(c)  Officers  of  graded  instruction — the  principals 
of  divisions  and  departments. 

(d)  The  executive  staff  of  the  school. 

(e)  Assistant  officers. 

Let  us  follow  this  classification  in  our  study. 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  87 

3.     Officers  of  the  Church. 

(a)  The  pastor,  as  executive  head  of  the  church, 
comes  into  the  church  school  as  ranking  officer,  with 
supervisory  but  not  immediate  jurisdiction,  except  as 
this  may  be  expressly  conferred.  The  fact  of  his 
being  pastor  gives  him  no  specific  function,  unless  it 
be  that  mentioned  in  Section  4,  below.  His  gen- 
eral function  is  to  oversee  the  conduct  of  the  church 
school,  advise  with  its  leaders,  represent  its  interests 
in  pulpit  and  church  councils  and  cooperate  as  ways 
open.  It  is  just  because  this  service  from  the  pastor 
is  so  greatly  needed  and  when  wisely  and  heartily 
given  counts  for  so  much  in  the  life  and  progress  of 
the  school  that  it  ought  not  ordinarily  to  be  limited 
by  exclusive  attention  to  the  adult  class  or  any  other 
special  field  of  service. 

As  spiritual  leader  of  the  congregation  the  pastor 
will  from  time  to  time  need  the  use  of  the  platform 
and  other  parts  of  the  school  mechanism  in  carrying 
out  his  plans  for  reaching  the  children  and  young 
people  with  special  messages  and  invitations.  These 
facilities  can  be  thus  used  so  as  to  strengthen  and 
not  diminish  their  educational  value.  For  all  such 
purposes  the  pastor's  jurisdiction  should  be  loyally 
conceded  and  full  cooperation  given. 

(b)  Next  in  rank,  as  a  church  officer  in  the  school, 
will  come  the  director  of  religious  education. 

More  and  more  clearly  to-day  we  realize  that  be- 
sides the  intelligent  layman's  business  training, 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  church-school  enterprise, 
we  need  for  the  conduct  of  a  real  church  school  a 
technically  trained  educational  executive  who  has 


38     CHUBCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

specialized  in  the  teaching  of  religion.  If  teachers 
of  religion  need  training,  how  much  more  they  who 
are  to  train  and  direct  them!  Few  churches  have 
yet  realized  this  need  sufficiently  to  employ  such  a 
worker;  but  that  gives  us  no  warrant  for  failing  to 
call  for  the  filling  of  this  office  as  part  of  the  church's 
task  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  modern  church  school. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  director  is  derived  from 
the  church  and  extends  beyond  the  Sunday  school  to 
all  features  of  church  hfe  which  are  or  can  be  made 
educational.  In  some  situations  it  may  be  best  for 
him  to  take  the  superintendency  for  a  season,  until 
he  has  worked  out  its  functions  on  an  educational 
basis  and  prepared  the  office  for  transfer  to  one  who 
is  ready  to  administer  it  in  sympathy  with  his  plans. 
Usually,  however,  it  is  better  for  him  to  carry  only 
those  functions  which  are  strictly  educational,  leav- 
ing general  administration  in  the  hands  of  a  separate 
executive.  Close  and  cordial  collaboration  between 
the  two  leaders  will  of  course  be  essential. 

(c)  Third  in  this  class  will  come  the  superin- 
tendent. 

Whether  in  conjunction  with  a  professional  (in 
some  cases  a  voluntary)  director  of  education  or 
carrying  the  whole  responsibility  alone,  the  super- 
intendent of  the  church  school  should  derive  his 
jurisdiction  from  the  church  which  has  entrusted  its 
school  for  the  year  to  his  leadership.  Only  so  can 
the  church  be  led  to  accept  its  responsibility  for  the 
religious  education  of  its  children. 

Full  voice  in  the  acceptance  of  their  leader  should 
be  accorded  to  the  board  or  council  of  the  school, 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  39 

after  the  church  authorities  have  made  their  nomi- 
nation. The  principles  governing  this  arrangement 
are  discussed  under  Section  7,  below.  The  pastor, 
as  go-between,  can  easily  guide  the  two  parties* 
choice  to  a  harmonious  outcome;  but  the  formality 
of  annual  choice  by  the  church  and  ratification  by  the 
teachers  should  be  maintained. 

4.    Officers  of  the  Council. 

Every  church  school  has  or  should  have  some 
form  of  legislative  organization,  by  which  the  of- 
ficers and  teachers — to  whom  should  be  added  the 
presidents  of  the  older  organized  classes — take  part 
in  the  management  of  the  school's  affairs.  The 
stated  meeting  of  this  body  is  now  called  the  work- 
ers' conference;  and  the  body  itself  we  may  call  the 
workers'  council.  (Chap.  VIII,  Sec.  9).  The  of- 
ficers of  this  council  constitute  the  second  class  of 
officers  of  the  church  school. 

Three  officers  are  called  for  by  the  work  of  this 
council.  It  must  have  a  chairman,  a  clerk  and  a 
treasurer.  Provision  should  also  be  made  for  a  vice- 
chairman  to  fill  the  chair  in  the  chairman's  absence. 

(a)  The  Chairman. — In  the  rules  of  one  church 
(the  Methodist  Episcopal)  it  is  provided  that  the 
pastor  shall  be  chairman  of  the  Sunday-school  board, 
corresponding  substantially  to  the  workers'  council. 
Quite  apart  from  this  prescription,  there  are  good 
reasons  for  considering  the  adoption  of  this  custom. 
Manager  of  proceedings  at  the  meeting  the  superin- 
tendent certainly  must  be.  But  from  which  point 
can  he  do  the  most  effective  managing — from  the 


40     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

chair,  or  from  a  seat  on  the  floor?  Every  pastor  is 
a  parliamentarian,  famihar  with  the  usage  of  his  de- 
nominational body.  He  knows  that  it  is  contrary  to 
rule  for  the  chair  to  speak  to  a  motion.  If  he  should 
forget  this,  it  can  without  disrespect  be  called  to  his 
attention.  By  a  careful  preparation  of  the  docket, 
with  notifications  to  participants,  the  superintendent 
can  hold  full  control  of  proceedings;  and  being  on 
the  floor  he  can  with  propriety  speak  on  every  matter 
on  which  he  has  aught  to  say.  The  office  of  chair- 
man of  the  council,  moreover,  is  an  excellent  school 
for  the  pastor,  or  for  the  senior  deacon  or  elder  who 
may  be  honoured  with  the  vice-chairmanship, 

(b)  The  Clerk. — It  is  usually  assumed — surely 
without  much  reflection — that  the  secretary  of  the 
Sunday  school  is  also  clerk  of  the  council.  But  if 
the  body  is  to  be  educated  to  a  sense  of  its  co- 
responsibility  with  the  superintendent  for  the  welfare 
of  the  school,  why  should  it  not  elect  a  clerk  of  its 
own  ?  Such  an  officer,  chosen  from  its  own  number, 
can  usually  do  it  better  service  than  can  be  had  from 
the  overworked  secretary.  He  will  also  be  immedi- 
ately responsible  to  the  body  that  elected  him.  His 
duties  will  include  good  minutes,  prompt  notices  of 
meetings  and  a  well-kept  roll. 

(c)  The  Treasurer. — Chief  among  the  council's 
functions,  as  the  church  school  is  ordinarily  run,  is 
the  control  of  school  funds.  The  treasurer  of  the 
church  school,  therefore,  will  derive  his  office  from 
the  council,  in  order  that  he  may  be  fully  respon- 
sible thereto.  He  will  not  be  an  officer  of  the  church, 
like  the  superintendent,  nor  a  nominee  of  the  super- 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  41 

intendent,  like  the  secretary.  He  will  be  an  officer 
of  the  council ;  and  he  should  be  elected  by  that  body 
from  among  its  own  number,  that  when  a  special 
meeting  is  hastily  called  he  may  be  there. 

Being  treasurer  of  a  school,  where  the  educational 
value  of  the  offerings  far  outweighs  their  monetary 
value,  the  treasurer  should  so  keep  his  books  and 
make  his  reports  that  the  gifts  of  individuals,  classes 
and  departments  shall  have  the  highest  possible  edu- 
cational effect.  The  added  labour  of  special-object 
accounting  should  never  daunt  him ;  for  by  encourag- 
ing the  support  of  these  special  objects  we  arouse 
interest,  focus  endeavour  and  build  character. 

The  school  is  also  a  business.  As  such,  its  ac- 
counts should  at  all  times  be  lucid,  well  posted  and 
at  hand  for  light  on  the  financial  standing  of  each 
department  and  budget  item.  Besides  making  regu- 
lar public  reports  of  offerings  received  and  for- 
warded, and  official  written  reports  to  the  council 
showing  classified  income  and  outgo,  the  treasurer 
should  supply  the  superintendent  with  materials  for 
a  simplified  executive  financial  record.  A  financial 
secretary  should  gather  and  record  the  weekly  of- 
ferings under  the  treasurer's  and  the  secretary's  joint 
direction. 

When  the  school  is  placed  in  charge  of  an  active 
committee  on  education,  as  suggested  in  Chapter  I, 
Section  iia,  th^re  will  be  no  need  of  an  administra- 
tive fund  separate  from  the  general  church  treasury. 
The  workers'  council,  however,  under  the  lead  of  the 
educational  director,  will  continue  to  direct  the  gath- 
ering and  disposing  of  the  school's  benevolent  funds; 


42      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

and  for  the  handling  of  these  it  will  need  a  school 
treasurer. 

5.  Officers  of  Graded  Instruction. 

The  principals  or  superintendents  of  instruction  in 
the  graded  departments  of  the  church  school  con- 
stitute the  third  class  of  officers.  They  exercise  a 
dual  responsibility,  as  managers  and  as  head  teachers 
of  their  departments.  In  the  former  capacity  they 
are  subordinate  to  the  superintendent,  in  the  latter 
to  the  director.  They  should  be  elected  by  the  church 
board,  on  the  nomination  of  the  superintendent,  the 
director  and  the  pastor. 

In  a  large  school,  or  one  where  complete  organi- 
zation is  especially  desirable,  there  is  also  need  for 
divisional  principals,  in  charge  respectively  of  the 
children's,  the  young  people's  and  the  adult  divisions. 
Architectural  conditions  may  emphasize  this  need, 
the  building  requiring  a  separate  handling  of  these 
larger  units  of  school  organization. 

The  duties  of  these  officers  are  discussed  in  Chap- 
ter III. 

6.  The  Executive  Staff. 

Dividing  with  the  superintendent  the  executive  re- 
sponsibility for  the  administration  of  the  school  as  a 
whole  are  certain  officers  who  with  their  chief  con- 
stitute the  executive  staff.  These  form  the  fourth 
class  of  church-school  officers.  Like  the  members 
of  the  President's  cabinet,  they  should  be  nominated 
by  the  chief  executive  and  confirmed  by  his  senate, 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  43 

the  workers'  council,  according  to  the  principles  of 
Section  7,  below. 

(a)  The  Associate. — In  all  church  schools  of  one 
hundred  members  or  more,  and  in  smaller  schools 
where  possible,  the  associate  superintendent  should 
be  a  full-time  officer  and  not  the  regular  teacher  of 
a  class.  He  may  be  of  mature  years  or  a  young  man 
in  training.  In  either  case  the  superintendent  should 
advise  with  him  frequently  on  current  issues,  taking 
pains  actually  to  associate  him  with  the  conduct  and 
life  of  the  school.  Special  provision  for  his  training 
through  courses  of  instruction  and  attendance  on  con- 
ventions and  summer  schools  should  also  be  given 
him. 

One  by  one  the  duties  of  the  executive  office  should 
be  given  the  associate,  to  be  discharged  in  his  own 
way.  In  a  large  school  there  may  be  several  asso- 
ciates under  such  training.  These  may  be  assigned 
from  time  to  time  to  special  offices  as  their  abilities 
permit.  The  final  test  of  an  associate's  grasp  of  af- 
fairs will  be  his  ability  to  draw  up  a  satisfactory 
docket  of  business  for  the  monthly  workers'  confer- 
ence. 

Some  of  the  functions  that  the  associate  may  per- 
form are : 

(i)  Participant  in  the  service  of  worship  and  in- 
struction. 

(2)  Alternate  as  platform  leader, 

(3)  Representative  on  the  floor,  to  welcome  visi- 
tors and  late  comers  and  to  attend  to  personal  mat- 
ters while  the  superintendent  opens  school  on  the 
appointed  minute. 


44     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

(4)  Substitute  teacher  for  older  classes. 

(5)  Manager  of  the  usher  and  doorkeeper  service. 

(6)  Superintendent  of  classification  of  new  pupils, 
where  this  is  not  in  the  hands  of  the  director  of  edu- 
cation. 

(7)  Manager  of  the  substitute  service,  so  far  as 
this  is  not  in  the  hands  of  the  department  principals. 

(b)  The  Secretary. — Next  to  the  superintendent, 
the  secretary  is  the  most  conspicuous  and  the  most 
standardized  officer  of  the  church  school.  Much  of 
his  v\^ork,  ordinarily,  is  inherited  routine,  the  educa- 
tional and  administrative  reasons  for  vi^hich  he  might 
have  trouble  in  explaining.  Yet  no  officer's  effi- 
ciency and  intelligence  are  more  vital  to  the  school's 
success. 

These  are  the  functions  v^^hich  the  secretary  and 
his  staff  are  expected  to  perform,  with  the  objectives 
to  be  striven  for  in  each  case : 

(i)  Keeping  of  the  school's  roll  and  register,  rep- 
resenting its  interest  in  the  personality  of  its  mem- 
bers and  accessions. 

(2)  Keeping  of  the  school's  weekly  record  and  the 
summaries  based  thereon,  thus  providing  for  the 
measurement  of  the  work  and  its  results. 

(3)  Gathering  of  the  weekly  offerings  for  record 
and  delivery  to  the  treasurer. 

(4)  Making  of  weekly,  quarterly  and  annual  re- 
ports to  the  school,  thus  stimulating  individual,  class, 
departmental  and  general  improvement. 

(5)  Making  of  comparative  reports,  thus  stimulat- 
ing attendance,  membership  increase  and  giving. 

(6)  Managing  the  correspondence  of  the  school, 
including  orders  for  supplies,  subscriptions  to  peri- 
odicals and  statistical  reports  to  denominational  and 
association  secretaries. 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  46 

(7)  Recording  of  the  facts  of  the  school's  history, 
with  report  of  the  same  on  anniversary  occasions, 

(8)  Custodian  of  records,  blank  forms  and  execu- 
tive supplies. 


In  a  very  small  school  one  officer  may  essay  to 
perform  all  these  functions  single-handed.  It  is  ob- 
viously better,  even  in  such  a  case,  to  divide  the  work 
with  one  or  more  assistants,  each  with  his  own 
specific  duties.  In  larger  schools  there  will  be  a 
secretarial  staff,  including  a  financial  secretary,  a 
biographical  or  birthday  secretary  and  one  or  more 
general  assistants.  As  an  auxiliary  staff,  there  will 
also  be  a  secretary  for  each  department  and  for  each 
class  above  the  primary  classes. 

It  is  the  secretary's  duty  so  to  organize  this  staff 
that  all  departmental  information  and  offerings  shall 
come  promptly  to  his  desk,  in  shape  for  rapid  han- 
dling, by  a  given  minute  of  the  session.  It  is  equally 
his  duty  so  to  act  that  the  operations  of  himself  and 
his  staff  shall  cause  no  distraction  of  class  attention 
or  interruption  of  departmental  or  general  worship. 
His  auxiliary  staff  will,  of  course,  be  officers  of  their 
respective  departments  or  classes,  but  under  his  au- 
thority as  to  that  part  of  their  work  which  concerns 
him.  A  meeting  of  these  auxiliaries  should  be  called, 
at  which  he  can  explain  their  duties  and  secure  hearty 
cooperation. 

(c)  The  Chorister. — The  chorister  is  leader  of  the 
ministry  of  music  for  the  school.  His  function  is 
not  simply  to  lead  the  singing,  but  rather  to  make  the 
music  of  the  church  school  an  integral  part  of  its 


46      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIOTSTEATIOK 

educational  plan  and  its  religious  appeal.  Hence  his 
jurisdiction  extends  to  the  departments  that  meet 
separately;  and  while  it  would  of  course  be  unwise 
for  him  to  interfere  in  the  department  principal's  de- 
tails of  plan,  he  should  have  general  plans  and  sug- 
gestions for  making  the  singing  and  hymn-memoriz- 
ing in  these  departments  a  part  of  the  musical  work 
of  the  school  as  a  whole.  Usually  his  constructive 
help,  especially  in  preparation  for  festival  work,  will 
be  welcome. 

The  pianist  or  organist  will  be  the  chorister's  as- 
sistant and  should  therefore  be  entirely  acceptable  to 
him.  Without  sympathetic  and  capable  accompany- 
ing no  musical  program,  least  of  all  an  educational 
one,  can  be  successfully  carried  out.  But  the  pianist, 
in  addition  to  the  work  of  accompanying,  will  have 
direct  service  to  render  in  the  opening  and  closing 
selections,  which  may  be  made  a  contribution  to  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  school  and  also  a  vehicle  for  the 
advance  presentation  of  melodies  to  be  sung  as  hymn- 
tunes  on  a  later  Sunday. 

Under  modern  conceptions  of  church-school  wor- 
ship as  part  of  the  pupils'  religious  education,'  all  the 
platform  work  of  the  school,  including  the  music,  is 
part  of  the  field  of  the  director  of  religious  educa- 
tion. He  should  join  with  the  superintendent  in  the 
preparation  of  worship  programs,  in  the  correlation 
of  these  with  the  material  of  the  graded  courses  and 
in  the  utilization  of  them  in  the  make-up  of  festival 
programs.    The  work  of  the  chorister  will  therefore 

\  See  the  works  of  Professor  Hartshome,  especially  Wor- 
ship in  the  Sunday  School. 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  47 

be  indirectly  under  the  director's  supervision.  The 
chorister's  direct  responsibility,  however,  will  be  to 
the  superintendent  as  general  conductor  of  the  plat- 
form work. 

(d)  The  Librarian. — While  the  modern  graded 
church  school  has  outgrown  the  kind  of  service  that 
was  formerly  rendered  by  the  typical  Sunday-school 
librarian  with  his  rapid-working  devices  for  the  cir- 
culation of  light  religious  fiction,  it  needs  good  li- 
brary work  more  than  ever. 

The  librarian  may  properly  be  a  former  teacher  of 
good  education,  or  a  well-informed  member  of  the 
community.  He  will  strive  for  the  gathering  and 
constant  increase  of  a  collection  of  books  needed  by 
the  school,  and  for  the  wise  use  of  these  when  so 
gathered.  He  will  have  an  efficient  system  for  list- 
ing, handling  and  charging  these  books  and  for  the 
following  up  of  those  that  are  not  returned.  He  will 
print  or  post  a  catalogue  and  bulletins  of  accessions, 
and  will  make  reports  showing  the  service  rendered. 

The  good  church-school  library  will  contain  a  de- 
partment of  healthy  juvenile  fiction  and  missionary 
adventure  for  the  eagerly  reading  juniors;  historical 
and  otherwise  educational  fiction,  biographies  of  the 
heroes  of  the  graded  lesson  courses,  missionary 
biography,  travel  and  description,  social  service  and 
Bible  information,  for  the  intermediate  and  senior 
classes;  books  of  spiritual  power  for  adult  readers 
and  thoughtful  young  people;  and  the  usual  officers* 
and  teachers'  library  of  reference  works  and  books  on 
religious  education  and  departmental  and  administra- 
tive method. 


48     CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

In  many  communities  the  full  service  of  such  a 
library  can  be  secured  from  the  public  library  of  the 
community.  In  such  case  the  librarian  may  act  as 
chairman  of  the  church-school  library  committee, 
and  without  a  plant  of  his  own  can  render  an  equally 
needed  service  of  supervision,  suggestion  and  stimu- 
lation. 

As  an  educational  officer,  the  librarian  may  also 
profitably  act  as  custodian  of  the  stocks  of  graded 
lesson  material,  relieving  the  secretary  of  this  duty. 
In  uniform  lesson  days  the  latter  officer  could  handle 
the  several  lines  of  quarterly  and  monthly  supplies 
with  small  thought  of  their  educational  content  and 
value ;  and  the  annual  order  for  renewal  was  a  simple 
matter.  But  under  the  conditions  of  the  graded  lesson 
system  the  making  out  of  the  lesson  order  sheet  is 
a  rather  technical  affair.  It  is  for  the  director  to 
specify  what  course  each  class  is  to  receive;  and  it 
will  then  be  the  librarian's  duty  to  see  that  full  stocks 
of  these  supplies,  quarter  by  quarter,  are  ready  for 
distribution  by  the  secretarial  staff.  The  salvage  thus 
made  possible  may  amount  in  a  large  school  to  many 
dollars  a  year,  to  say  nothing  of  the  educational 
smoothness  of  operation  thus  secured.  All  teachers' 
lesson  books  not  purchased  by  the  teachers  for  per- 
sonal retention  should  bear  the  school's  library  label 
and  be  returned  to  the  shelves  at  the  end  of  the 
quarter. 

7.    Assistant  Officers. 

Responsibility  implies  freedom  of  choice.  Every 
principal  officer,  therefore,  should  be  free  to  nomi- 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  49 

nate  the  assistants  for  whose  work  he  is  to  be  held 
responsible.  But  these  assistants  are  to  work  with 
the  whole  church-school  force  for  a  year.  The  force, 
therefore,  should  be  free  to  accept  or  reject  the 
nomination.  Efficiency  further  requires  that  the 
fellowship  of  the  service  shall  not  be  marred  by  ill- 
feeling,  such  as  might  be  caused  by  the  rejection  of 
a  nomination  publicly  made. 

The  pastor,  therefore,  or  in  his  stead  some  wise 
leader,  should  oversee  and  guide  the  process  of  of- 
ficial selection,  so  as  to  avert  personal  issues  and 
secure,  year  after  year,  the  most  effective  official 
combination  that  the  resources  of  the  community 
afford.  To  this  end  he  will  constantly  exalt  the  work 
to  be  done  and  the  results  to  be  gained,  rather  than 
the  honours  of  place  and  the  rights  of  jurisdiction. 
The  spirit  of  Christ  will  insure  liberty  and  progress. 

The  principles  here  stated,  if  accepted  as  valid, 
should  be  embodied  in  the  rules  of  the  church  school 
and  given  a  general  application.  Application  of  them 
to  the  case  of  the  superintendent  has  been  made  in 
Section  3c,  above. 

8.    The  Officer's  Pay. 

Whether  church-school  workers  should  be  paid  is 
being  seriously  discussed  in  some  quarters  and  will 
soon  be  a  living  issue.  But  really,  no  worker  of  any 
kind  ever  works  without  pay.  There  can  be  no  ac- 
tion on  the  part  of  a  free  agent  without  motivation. 
Brilliant  projects  are  constantly  coming  to  naught 
because  the  advocates  have  failed  to  make  coopera- 
tion seem  worth  while.    In  industry  and  commerce, 


50     CHTJECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

no  less  than  in  the  voluntary  enterprises  of  the 
church,  production  lags  where  motive  is  lacking. 
The  manager  pays  high  wages;  but  he  may  not  yet 
have  given  each  of  his  men  an  adequate  motive  for 
doing  his  best.  Let  not  the  church  fall  into  indus- 
try's error. 

It  is  clear  to-day  that  money,  the  standard  eco- 
nomic motive  of  endeavour,  should  be  applied  by 
the  church  to  many  services  where  the  need  and  our 
ideals  have  outgrown  the  possibilities  of  marginal 
service  by  men  and  women  whose  living  is  gained  in 
other  ways.  Even  so,  money  cannot  be  the  real  mo- 
tive. Money  will  simply  spell  release  from  the  ne- 
cessity of  rendering  service  elsewhere.  There  must 
be  spiritual  pay  for  all  our  workers.  For  each  sepa- 
rate officer,  teacher  and  pupil,  we  must  ask,  What 
pay,  oflfered  to  this  individual,  will  move  him  first  to 
accept  our  task  and  then  to  continue  earnestly  and 
faithfully  to  discharge  it?  He  who  can  solve  this 
riddle  as  often  as  it  appears  will  be  a  great  execu- 
tive. 

The  superintendent,  therefore,  must  learn  the  art 
of  challenge.  He  must  know  how  to  put  a  task  to 
the  busy  man  in  such  light  that  the  man  will  want  to 
try  it.  Then  he  must  see  that  every  cent  of  pay 
earned  by  that  man  is  received  by  him ;  and  he  must 
intuitively  know  in  what  sort  of  coin  this  man  should 
be  paid.  Fellowship  and  an  introduction  to  the 
young  folks'  set  may  be  what  the  young  student  or 
stranger  would  prize.  Quiet  satisfaction  in  the  do- 
ing of  a  good  work  pays  some,  public  recognition 
others.    Let  the  leader  see  that  every  worker  gets  his 


THE  OFFICIAL  STAFF  61 

pay  and  that  he  himself  does  not  take  too  much. 
God  pays  with  equal  justice;  and  the  honest  super- 
intendent rejoices  to  follow  the  divine  example. 

Assignments 

1.  In  what  respect,  and  how,  is  a  superintendent 
like  the  executor  of  an  estate  ? 

2.  Name  the  classes  of  officers  of  the  church 
school.  How  does  this  classifying  of  the  school 
officers  help  us  in  organizing  the  school  ? 

3a.  What  is  the  pastor's  work  as  a  church-school 
officer  ? 

3b.  For  what  is  the  educational  director  respon- 
sible? If  in  your  church  there  is  one  who  might  take 
this  place,  how  could  the  church  help  him  or  her  to 
learn  more  as  to  its  duties  and  standards  ? 

3c.  Why  should  the  superintendent  be  directly  re- 
sponsible to  the  church? 

4a.  "Resolved,  that  the  pastor  should  be  chair- 
man of  the  workers'  conference."  List  the  argu- 
ments for  and  against  this  proposition. 

4b.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  clerk  of  the  work- 
ers' council? 

4c.  How  should  the  treasurer  be  chosen  ?  Whose 
needs  should  he  study  to  serve?  What  constitutes 
efficient  treasury  service? 

5.  What  two  responsibilities  does  the  depart- 
ment principal  carry  ? 

6a.  What  is  the  situation  in  your  school  as  to 
the  associate  superintendent?  Which  of  the  listed 
functions  are  or  soon  will  be  distributed  to  him  or 
some  other  official  ? 


52     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

6b.  (i)  In  your  school,  which  of  the  listed  secre- 
tarial functions  are  now  being  satisfactorily  per- 
formed? (2)  Name  one  or  more  improvements 
needed. 

6c.  (i)  Outline  a  plan  for  making  the  music  of 
your  church  school  more  of  an  educational  force  for 
religion.  (2)  If  no  capable  chorister  seems  available, 
what  can  be  done  to  supply  musical  leadership  ? 

6d.    Duties  and  opportunities  of  the  librarian. 

7.  (i)  What  assistant  officers  are  now  in  service 
in  your  school?  (2)  What  additional  assistants  are 
needed?  (3)  Draft  a  by-law  to  govern  the  annual 
election  of  the  officers  of  the  church  school. 

8.  How  may  the  superintendent  get  officers  for 
the  school,  keep  them  from  year  to  year  and  cause 
each  to  give  of  his  best? 


m 

DIVISIONS,  DEPARTMENTS  AND  CLASSES 

1.     The  Teaching  Organization:  Early  History. 

From  its  beginning  under  Robert  Raikes  in  1780 
the  Sunday  school  has  been  organized  by  classes,  each 
under  a  teacher.  Originally  it  comprised  only  pupils 
old  enough  to  learn  to  read  and  not  too  old  to  be  will- 
ing to  stay  with  the  younger  ones;  that  is,  from  six 
to  fourteen.  Classes  for  teaching  adult  illiterates  to 
read  the  Bible  were  started  in  England  and  Wales 
about  181 1.  The  movement  for  adult  and  senior 
Bible  classes  thus  begun  was  soon  carried  to  Amer- 
ica, aroused  much  enthusiasm  and  was  combined  with 
the  earlier  movement  for  Sunday  schools  as  originally 
conceived.  Hence  the  odd  name  of  "  The  Sunday 
and  Adult  School  Union"  (Philadelphia,  1817), 
which  later  became  The  American  Sunday-school 
Union. 

"  Infant  schools  "  for  children  below  the  reading 
age  were  started  by  experimenters  in  England  before 
1820.  This  new  idea  was  likewise  soon  brought  to 
America ;  and  the  fashion  of  having  an  "  infant 
school "  as  an  adjunct  to  one's  regular  Simday  school 
began  to  gain  currency.  As  progress  was  made  in 
the  establishment  of  general  education,  the  need  of 
teaching  new  Sunday-school  pupils  to  read  before 
they  could  begin  to  use  the  Bible  grew  less;  and  so 

53 


54     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTKATION 

the  distinction  between  the  infant  school  and  the  low- 
est classes  of  the  Sunday  school  disappeared. 

Between  1815  and  1830  the  churches  of  America 
acquired  the  habit  of  maintaining  a  Sunday  school  as 
part  of  the  local  church  organization.  Such  a  school 
regularly  consisted  of  the  main-school  classes,  with 
an  infant  school  below  and  the  so-called  Bible  classes 
above ;  each  of  these  adjuncts,  as  we  have  seen,  hav- 
ing originally  been  a  separate  enterprise.  The  infant 
school  or  infant  class  in  the  course  of  years  became 
the  primary  class,  embracing  all  the  children  from 
three  to  nine,  ten  or  eleven,  and  sometimes  those  even 
older,  and  taught  usually  by  one  teacher,  with  assist- 
ants to  maintain  order  as  needed.  A  few  progressive 
workers  in  the  sixties  had  primary  departments  or- 
ganized by  classes,  with  teachers  who  divided  the 
work  of  instruction  as  well  as  that  of  management; 
but  the  establishment  of  the  doctrine  that  all  the 
school  should  study  one  lesson  set  back  the  movement 
for  primary  department  organization. 

2.    The  One-Lesson-for-AU  Idea. 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century 
and  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth  it  was  the  gen- 
erally accepted  idea  among  Sunday-school  workers 
in  America  that  all  classes  in  the  Sunday  school 
should  study  the  same  Bible  lesson,  each  teacher 
adapting  the  treatment  to  the  age  and  needs  of  his 
class.  With  the  adoption  in  1872  of  a  common  Bible 
passage  and  specifications,  to  be  used  by  all  lesson 
publishers  as  the  basis  of  their  several  treatments, 
the  idea  was  extended  to  include  uniformity  among 


DEPABTMENTS  AND  CLASSES  66 

all  Sunday  schools  on  the  same  Sunday,  as  well  as 
among  all  classes  in  the  same  school  on  that  Sun- 
day. Around  this  idea  of  "  the  lesson  for  the  day/* 
which  all  classes  in  all  schools  were  to  study,  grew 
up  during  this  long  period  a  series  of  institutions  of 
which  it  was  the  central  and  determinative  factor. 
Among  these  institutions  may  be  enumerated : 


(o)  The  superintendent's  review  of  the  lesson 
from  the  desk,  as  an  indispensable  part  of  the  closing 

service. 

(b)  The  presence  of  the  primary  class  and  the 
Bible  classes  in  the  main  room  for  the  opening  serv- 
ice, that  they  might  join  in  the  responsive  reading  of 
the  lesson  for  the  day ;  and  also  for  the  closing  serv- 
ice, that  they  might  have  their  lesson  teachings  uni- 
fied by  hearing  the  superintendent's  desk  review. 

(c)  The  weekly  teachers'  meeting  or  preparation 
class,  for  study  of  the  next  Sunday's  lesson;  with 
union  classes  where  teachers  from  all  departments 
of  many  schools  might  gain  the  benefit  of  lesson 
preparation  under  some  celebrated  leader. 

(d)  The  weekly  expository  article  on  the  current 
lesson  in  the  religious  and  the  secular  press. 

(e)  The  various  systems  of  daily  home  Bible  read- 
ings on  the  lessons,  for  individual  or  family  use. 

(/)  The  "  Akron  plan "  of  Sunday-school  build- 
ing, allowing  all  departmental  and  class  rooms,  how- 
ever separable  for  part  of  the  hour,  to  be  thrown 
together,  with  every  seat  in  view  of  the  desk. 

(g)  The  home  department  plan  of  enrolling  home 
students  of  the  Sunday-school  lesson. 

(h)  The  simple  drill-book  type  of  teacher-train- 
ing manual,  to  introduce  the  student  to  the  work  of 
adapting  and  teaching  the  uniform-lesson  passage  to 
a  class  of  any  age. 


66     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

(i)  The  annual  volume  of  lesson  expositions  for 
all  teachers. 

The  foundation  of  this  idea  of  one  lesson  for  all 
was  laid  before  the  sympathetic  study  of  childhood 
had  revealed  how  widely  and  fundamentally  the 
spiritual  needs  of  one  age  differ  from  those  of  an- 
other. The  methods  of  secular  education  as  then 
generally  followed  were  far  behind  the  standards  of 
to-day.  The  ideal  of  unity  was  understood  by 
American  Sunday-school  leaders  and  followed  un- 
flinchingly; the  ideal  of  adaptation  to  observed  need 
was  known  and  followed  by  a  few.  So  firm  was  the 
organization  in  support  of  unity,  so  strong  were — 
and  still  are — the  interests  arrayed  on  its  side,  and 
so  loyal  was  the  fellowship  of  American,  Canadian 
and  British  Sunday-school  workers,  that  for  long 
years  the  steadily  rising  advocacy  of  adapted  (and 
therefore  non-uniform)  lessons  made  little  headway. 

The  forces  of  the  church  school  must  understand 
this  historical  situation  in  order  that  they  may  be 
able  to  work  together  in  sympathy  and  achieve  united 
progress.  The  more  fully  a  worker  of  to-day  is 
committed  to  the  modern  program  of  gradation,  the 
more  carefully  should  he  study  the  phenomena  of 
that  period  of  uniformity  through  which  so  many  of 
his  fellow-workers  have  come,  and  in  which  thou- 
sands of  American  Sunday  schools  still  dwell. 

3.     Expanding  the  One-Room  School. 

(a)  Start  at  the  Beginning. — In  studying  the  de- 
partmental organization  of  the  church  school,  we 
may  begin  with  the  school  of  average  city  size,  num- 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  57 

bering  at  least  150,  with  several  rooms  in  addition 
to  its  main  assembly  room.  Such  a  school  is  al- 
ready more  or  less  divided  departmentally.  Our 
problem  in  such  case  is  to  bring  the  work  into  con- 
formity with  the  standards  of  departmental  organi- 
zation as  already  given/ 

But  the  majority  of  American  Sunday  schools  are 
not  of  this  type.  The  average  Sunday  school  in  the 
United  States,  according  to  the  statistics  of  1918,* 
has  but  121  members;  while  in  seventeen  states  the 
average  membership  is  less  than  a  hundred.  At 
least  half  the  Sunday  schools  of  North  America  are 
small  schools,  whose  housing  is  a  church  or  school- 
house  of  but  one  room.  This  hard  condition  must 
temper  our  dogmatic  idealism  as  to  the  minimum 
essentials  of  graded  efficiency,  if  our  studies  are  to 
have  practical  value  to  a  large  section  of  the  Ameri- 
can church-school  constituency. 

There  is  gain  indeed  for  all  workers  in  a  progres- 
sive study  of  the  problem  of  right  departmental  or- 
ganization. Beginning  where  the  little  Sunday  school 
is  forced  to  begin,  with  fifty  members  or  even  fewer 
in  a  single  room,  we  may  consider  how  the  succes- 
sive departments  should  properly  be  formed,  organ- 
ized and  housed,  as  the  school  grows  to  the  size  with 
which  we  are  especially  concerned.  So  shall  we  test 
the  soundness  of  our  principles  and  the  worth  of  our 
customs.  Many  so-called  modem  methods  of  or- 
ganization are  merely  devices  for  handling  the  crowd. 

*  Chapter  I,  Sec.  3. 

*  Report  of  the  Fifteenth  International  Convention, 
statistical  insert. 


58     CHUKCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

(b)  The  Five-Class  School. — A  Sunday  school  of 
fifty  members — we  will  not  call  it  a  church  school 
until  it  has  justified  by  its  good  work  the  more  mod- 
em title — will  probably  have  five  classes.  There  will 
be  the  primary  class  for  the  children  of  eight  and 
under,  the  junior  class  for  those  from  nine  to  about 
twelve,  the  senior  class  for  the  older  boys  and  girls 
from  thirteen  to  sixteen  or  seventeen,  the  young  peo- 
ple's class  from  about  seventeen  to  about  twenty- 
three  or  twenty-four,  and  the  adult  class  of  men  and 
women.  Seldom  will  these  groups  be  well  balanced 
in  numbers;  one  neighbourhood  will  be  singularly 
short  of  this  age  or  sex,  another  of  that.  But  these 
are  the  natural  dividing  lines  for  classes  that  are  to 
represent  in  the  small  school  the  work  of  the  de- 
partments of  many  classes  in  the  large  school. 
When  for  each  of  these  classes  we  have  found  a 
permanent  teacher  for  the  ages  represented  and  have 
adopted  a  system  for  promoting  the  pupils  and  re- 
taining the  teachers,  we  have  departmentalized  our 
little  school. 

(c)  The  Ten-Class  School. — With  a  growth  to  one 
hundred  members  there  may  be  ten  classes.  These 
will  properly  be  a  beginners'  class  of  children  under 
six,  a  primary  class  of  those  from  six  to  eight,  a 
first  junior  class  of  boys  and  girls  of  nine  and  ten, 
a  second  junior  class  of  boys  and  another  of  girls  of 
eleven  and  twelve,  a  senior  class  of  boys  from 
thirteen  to  seventeen,  a  like  class  of  girls,  a  young 
people's  class,  an  adult  class  for  men  and  an  adult 
class  for  women.  These  age-limits  will  of  course 
vary  in  different  schools  and  may  vary  in  the  same 


DEPABTMENTS  AND  CLASSES  59 

school  in  different  years;  but  the  aim  should  be  to 
restore  them  by  transfers  and  promotions  so  as  to 
keep  each  class  as  far  as  possible  a  permanent  in- 
stitution, until  the  growth  of  the  school  calls  for  a 
closer  structure/ 

In  this  school  the  three  junior  classes  will  consti- 
tute the  junior  department  and  should  as  soon  as 
possible  have  a  principal  with  no  duty  but  to  pro- 
mote the  work  of  the  department ;  whether  or  not  it 
is  possible  to  give  the  department  a  separate  room. 
The  primary  class  will  of  course  have  been  given  its 
separate  room  at  an  earlier  stage,  and  the  beginners' 
class  likewise;  or  at  least  the  separation  of  a  screened 
or  curtained  corner. 


4.     Groups  in  the  Larger  School. 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  growth  in  numbers  con- 
tinues. The  primary  class,  which  usually  grows 
faster  than  the  older  departments,  will  soon  split  into 
three  year-groups  of  six,  seven  and  eight  years  old, 
with  boys  and  girls  in  each  year-graded  class.  For 
these  classes  teachers  will  be  found,  the  primary 
teacher  becoming  principal  of  the  department.  The 
older  classes  will  likewise  be  split  on  age-lines  as 
new  teachers  become  available;  and  wherever  pos- 
sible above  the  primary  department  there  will  be  for 
each  year  a  class  of  boys  and  one  of  girls. 

Between  the  junior  and  the  senior  classes  will  de- 

'  See  the  author's  "  How  to  Run  a  Little  Sunday  School," 
pp.  49-53-  It  is  of  course  possible,  and  in  some  cases  may 
be  advisable,  to  arrange  the  groups  in  a  different  way. 


60      CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

velop  the  intermediate  department,  in  which  will  be 
grouped  the  classes  formed  to  cover  the  ages  from 
twelve  to  fourteen.' 

The  young  people's  class  will  naturally  tend  to 
divide  on  sex  lines ;  young  men's  and  young  women's 
classes  being  the  customary  thing  where  numbers 
make  them  possible.  A  sounder  plan  educationally 
will  be  to  keep  the  young  people  together  in  one 
or  more  active  classes  dividing  on  age  lines;  the 
young     people's     department     further     developing 


'  The  history  of  these  names  and  ages  is  peculiar.  When, 
about  1890,  the  pioneer  graded  workers  were  developing  a 
department  between  the  primary  class  and  the  main  school, 
some  called  the  pupils  thus  separated  "  intermediates,"  while 
others  preferred  to  call  them  "  juniors  " ;  all  above  these,  to 
the  adults,  being  seniors.  This  ambiguity  became  serious 
when  the  lesson  publishers  began  to  multiply  graded  lesson 
quarterlies  on  the  uniform  lessons.  One  house  issued 
quarterlies  for  intermediate  classes,  meaning  those  from  nine 
to  twelve  or  thirteen,  for  junior  classes,  meaning  those  from 
thirteen  to  sixteen  or  seventeen,  and  for  seniors,  meaning 
those  of  eighteen  and  over.  Other  publishers  used  the  names 
"junior"  and  "intermediate"  in  the  opposite  order.  When 
the  users  of  these  helps  met  in  county  conventions,  primary 
unions  and  summer  schools,  constant  explanation  was  neces- 
sary as  to  what  ages  were  meant.  In  1904  the  Committee 
on  Education  of  the  International  Sunday-school  Association 
arbitrated  the  matter.  After  ascertaining  the  extent  of  the 
divergent  usages  they  drew  up  a  standard  set  of  names  and 
ages :  beginners  3-5,  primary  6-8,  junior  9-12,  intermediate 
13-16,  senior  17-20,  adult  21  up.  This  grouping  was  fixed 
with  almost  no  experience  to  go  by  as  to  the  best  age-group- 
ings for  the  upper  grades.  It  was  nevertheless  followed  by 
the  Lesson  Committee  and  their  advisers,  1909-1916,  in 
grouping  and  naming  the  graded  lesson  courses.  In  1917 
the  Sunday-school  Council  utilized  the  experience  of  later 
workers  in  establishing  the  present  standard  of  names  and 
ages,  given  on  p.  21.  Many  schools,  however,  continue  to 
use  the  older  grouping,  and  many  able  junior  workers  op- 
pose the  transfer  of  twelve-year-olds  to  the  intermediate 
departxaeat. 


DEPAETMENT8  AND  CLASSES  61 

through  the  organizing  of  a  training  class  and  other 
special  classes  for  the  study  of  special  courses.  The 
correlation  of  such  a  department  with  the  young 
people's  society  of  the  church  will  naturally  follow. 

The  adult  division,  begun  by  the  separation  of  the 
men's  and  women's  classes,  will  continue  to  grow 
by  simple  increase  of  these  classes  in  numbers,  until 
it  becomes  possible  to  form  classes  of  parents  on  the 
lines  of  their  children's  ages.  The  home  department 
when  formed  will  constitute  a  part  of  this  division, 
and  should  be  closely  affiliated  with  each  of  the 
main  adult  classes.  In  a  large  school  there  should 
be  several  classes  of  men  and  several  of  women, 
formed  to  represent  younger,  middle  and  older  life- 
interests,  problems  and  tastes ;  each  class  being  large 
enough  to  make  a  good  social  group  and  maintain  a 
working  organization. 

5.     Departmental  Differences. 

No  two  of  the  standard  departments  can  be  or- 
ganized in  exactly  the  same  way.  Experience  with 
one  age-group  is  not  a  safe  guide  in  work  with  any 
other  group,  older  or  younger.  Each  department 
must  be  run  on  laws  of  its  own,  based  on  a  close, 
continuous  and  sympathetic  study  of  the  pupils  con- 
cerned, of  their  teachers  working  with  them  under 
church-school  conditions  and  of  the  reactions  se- 
cured to  the  studies  and  methods  so  far  used.  The 
latest  official  standards  may  be  presumed  to  be  based 
on  such  study.  If  we  find  that  they  do  not  fit  our 
children,  we  may  properly  deviate  from  them.  But 
our  customs  and  habits,  our  convenience,  our  ex- 


62     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

perience  with  older  pupils  or  with  younger, — these 
are  not  good  reasons  for  such  deviation. 

The  standard  plans  of  departmental  management 
for  the  beginners',  primary  and  junior  departments 
imply  for  each  department  a  separate  assembly 
room,  with  provision  of  separate  classrooms  or  at 
least  curtained  spaces  for  the  primary  and  junior 
classes;  each  class  having  its  table  and  circle  of 
movable  chairs  of  size  to  fit  the  bodies  of  the  chil- 
dren concerned.  With  the  advent  of  well-trained 
teachers,  classes  will  naturally  increase  in  size;  and 
a  modern  school  classroom,  at  least  for  each  junior 
class,  will  become  the  standard  plan  of  housing.' 
Each  of  these  departments  needs  a  principal  trained 
in  modem  methods  of  children's  church-school  work, 
able  to  teach,  lead  and  manage  her  department  and 
to  inspire  and  train  her  departmental  fellow-workers. 

Important  divergences  in  method  are  called  for 
by  the  rapid  changes  which  mark  the  oncoming  and 
development  of  adolescence.  The  one  sure  fact  about 
any  group  of  intermediates  is  that  they  are  not  to  be 
handled  in  the  junior  way.  The  dividing  line  comes 
somewhere  about  the  twelfth  year.  Over  that  line, 
with  rare  exceptions,  no  teacher  should  pass.  Only 
so  can  the  junior  faculty  and  the  intermediate  faculty 
be  separately  built,  each  on  a  foundation  of  increas- 
ing experience  with  pupils  of  its  own  assigned  ages. 
Laxity  here  means  the  virtual  abandonment  of  the 
ideal  of  a  well-graded  school ;  while  firmness  at  the 
outset  will  make  later  insistence  relatively  easy. 

Adolescence  demands  not  only  new  lessons  and  a 
*  Chapter  VII,  Sees.  6b,  c,  g. 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  63 

new  method  in  teaching  but  a  new  principle  of  de- 
partmental organization.  Control  must  now  come 
more  and  more  from  the  pupils  and  less  and  less 
from  the  school.  To  make  room  for  this  we  must 
learn  to  think  of  the  adult  leaders  of  these  depart- 
ments not  as  superintendents  or  principals  in  author- 
ity but  as  counselors  or  coaches,  guiding  and  inspir- 
ing the  boy  and  girl  leaders  and  ever  seeking  not  to 
check  and  limit  but  rather  to  develop  initiative  and 
enterprise,  while  holding  up  standards  and  encourag- 
ing to  patience  and  a  steady  pursuit  of  the  year's 
goal.  By  this  radical  shift  we  meet  half-way  the 
eager  desire  to  be  trusted  with  responsibility,  make 
our  church  school  a  school  of  democracy,  hold  the 
older  pupils  with  a  new  set  of  interests  and  ease  the 
superintendent's  load.* 

In  the  adult  division  the  control  is  entirely  with 
the  representatives  of  the  adult  members  of  the  or- 
ganizations concerned.  The  teachers  are  included 
as  equal  factors  in  the  administrative  organization 
with  the  class  presidents  and  other  convenient  rep- 
resentatives of  the  adult  force.  An  adult  council, 
with  the  usual  officers,  will  unify  and  direct  the  work 
of  the  division;  while  an  adult  principal,  if  needed, 
may  carry  out  the  educational  plans  of  the  director 
of  religious  education. 

6.    The  Department  Without  a  Room. 
Thousands  of   church   schools   still  lack  even   a 

*In  Appendix  A  is  given  the  illuminating  deliverance  of 
the  Sunday-school  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations, 
1917,  as  to  a  policy  to  be  followed  in  developing  thf  church- 
school  work  of  the  young  people's  division. 


64      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

separate  junior  assembly  room,  to  say  nothing  of 
classrooms.  Other  thousands  have  only  a  makeshift 
arrangement  for  separating  the  beginners  from  the 
primary  children.  A  vast  number  have  no  separate 
room  at  all.  What  can  these  schools  do  to  gain  the 
benefits  of  departmental  organization? 

Where  one  class  covers  the  age-limits  of  a  stand- 
ard department,  as  in  the  five-class  school,  the  class 
is  the  department  and  its  teacher  is  the  department 
principal.  Where  there  are  two  classes,  one  of  the 
teachers  may  be  appointed  principal.  With  three  or 
more  classes  in  the  departmental  age-group,  there  is 
room  for  a  principal  in  addition  to  the  class  teachers ; 
and  the  classes  concerned  may  be  grouped  in  a  desig- 
nated space  on  the  main-room  floor. 

No  separate  service  of  v^^orship  will  be  possible  in 
such  a  department,  nor  any  drill  in  recitation  and 
song.  Brief  notices  may  be  given,  by  arrangement 
with  the  school  superintendent,  or  slips  handed  to 
the  teachers  as  they  enter.  Conferences  with  the 
teachers  and  drills  with  the  classes  may  be  held  be- 
fore or  after  the  school  hour.  The  principal  will 
keep  the  graded  roll  of  the  department  and  will 
watch  the  progress  of  each  pupil  quarter  by  quarter. 
A  department  which  thus  shows  its  need  of  a  sepa- 
rate room  and  its  will  to  overcome  obstacles  is  on 
its  way  to  getting  the  desired  separation. 

7.    Features  of  Departmental  Organization. 

(a)  Children's  Division. — The  cradle  roll  depart- 
ment belongs  to  the  children's  division  as  to  all  work 
done  for  the  babies  and  their  mothers  in  the  school- 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  65 

irooms  and  by  the  division  workers  as  such.  The 
visitation  of  the  mothers  in  their  homes,  with  any 
>vork  done  for  the  babies  directly  there,  properly 
comes  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  home  depart- 
ment and  so  is  responsible  to  the  leadership  of  the 
adult  division ;  but  it  may  be  left  with  the  children's 
workers  if  they  are  best  fitted  or  situated  to  do  it 
well. 

A  "  cradle-roll  class "  of  three-year-olds,  assem- 
bled in  the  beginners'  room  during  the  hour  of  morn- 
ing worship,  or  in  a  separate  room  at  school  time,  is 
becoming  a  standard  feature  of  well-graded  church- 
school  work.  Providing  for  these  very  little  children 
enables  their  mothers  to  attend  service  or  join  a 
mothers'  class,  while  it  relieves  the  beginners'  teacher 
of  many  embarrassments.  The  children  are  amused 
and  taught  with  simple  plays  and  nursery  conversa- 
tions based  on  lessons  from  pictures  on  blocks. 

The  beginners'  department  will  seek  the  spirit  of 
the  nursery,  the  kindergarten  and  the  home  rather 
than  that  of  the  school.  It  will  have  a  principal,  a 
pianist  and  one  or  more  assistants  according  to  size. 
The  pupils  are  properly  grouped  as  four-year-olds 
and  five-year-olds,  or  all  ages  together,  for  the  open- 
ing "  circle  talk "  and  for  the  main  lesson  story. 
The  graded  course  of  story  lessons,  two  years  long, 
is  usually  taught  to  the  whole  department  at  once. 
At  this  age  so  little  depends  on  logic  and  so  much  on 
atmosphere  that  the  gain  of  departmental  unity  far 
outweighs  any  advantage  to  be  secured  by  exact 
gradation  of  studies.  Little  memorizing  is  done  ex- 
cept of  short  and  simple  texts  like  "Be  ye  kind," 


66     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

following  one  or  more  stories  illustrating  kindness, 
and  of  equally  simple  childhood  hymns. 

The  primary  department,  like  the  beginners',  takes 
no  note  of  sex;  the  children  being  graded  as  six, 
seven  and  eight  at  their  last  birthday,  with  excep- 
tions as  needed,  and  placed  in  classes,  each  of  which 
should  contain  children  of  one  grade  only.  Like  the 
beginners'  department,  also,  this  department  needs  a 
principal  with  a  staff  of  assistants;  and  it  should 
also  have  a  teacher  for  each  class." 

The  junior  department,  being  preeminently  the  de- 
partment of  lesson  study  and  habit  formation,  needs 
schoolroom  housing  and  equipment,  a  well-trained 
principal  with  assistants,  and  a  corps  of  teachers 
trained  for  junior  work  and  kept  to  their  task  by 
regular  transfers  to  younger  classes  as  their  pupils 
reach  the  promotion  line.     The  department  has  a 

*  Here  we  meet  the  question  whether  the  lessons  for  the 
department  shall  be  taught  separately  to  each  grade,  the 
three  yearly  courses  being  given  simultaneously  every  year, 
or  whether  one  lesson  shall  be  taught  to  all  three  grades  at 
once  in  a  three-year  cycle — the  departmental  plan.  The  les- 
son story,  we  must  remember,  properly  takes,  with  its  accom- 
panying treatment,  less  than  half  of  the  hour ;  the  remainder 
by  either  method  being  in  the  principal's  hands.  On  the 
closely  graded  plan  we  need  at  least  one  teacher  for  each 
grade.  On  the  departmental  plan  such  teachers  are  still 
desirable;  but  all  the  work  might  be  done  by  the  principal, 
as  in  the  old-fashioned  primary  class.  In  the  small  school 
the  departmental  plan  fits  the  situation;  though  the  closely 
graded  supplies  may  be  and  often  are  successfully  adapted 
to  small-school  use.  In  the  larger  school  the  departmental 
supplies  are  available  if  we  prefer  to  work  that  way;  but  the 
closely  graded  method  enables  us  to  offer  each  year  to  each 
set  of  incoming  six-year-olds  the  same  three-year  course  in 
Its  natural  order.  The  problem  should  be  settled  by  each 
school  on  its  educational  merits  and  in  the  light  of  its  own 
needs,  and  the  supplies  ordered  accordingly. 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  67 

work  to  do  for  these  pre-adolescents  that  if  well 
done  will  make  later  teaching  and  management  far 
easier  and  if  ill  done  or  neglected  can  never  be  re- 
placed. The  principal's  desk  work  is  of  equal  im- 
portance with  the  lesson  work  of  the  class  teachers. 
One  full  hour  a  week  is  an  altogether  inadequate  time- 
allowance  for  the  religious  instruction  which  children 
of  these  ages  require.  Not  one  minute  of  this  time 
should  be  lost  or  reduced  in  teaching  value  by  the 
needless  presence  of  the  department  in  the  main 
room  when  it  could  be  at  work  in  its  own  assembly. 
Once  a  quarter  is  often  enough  for  such  a  partici- 
pation, until  we  can  transfer  some  of  the  junior  les- 
sons to  the  week-day  religious  school. 

(b)  Young  People's  Division. — The  rapid  develop- 
ment of  personal  feeling  as  we  cross  the  line  of 
adolescence  calls,  as  we  have  seen,  for  radical 
changes  in  our  modes  of  treatment.  The  dropping 
out  of  the  older  pupils,  so  constant  a  factor  in  old- 
fashioned  Sunday-school  work,  is  simply  the  young 
folks'  response  to  the  way  we  meet  the  facts  of  their 
individual  and  social  life.  When  the  school  work 
fits  these  facts,  the  big  boys  stay  as  cheerfully  as  the 
little  ones. 

This  development  of  personal  feeling  leads  to  a 
heightened  social  feeling  and  accompanies  an  in- 
crease in  the  power  of  voluntary  attention.  The 
class  group  becomes  a  more  important  factor  in  our 
organization.  The  recitation  period  calls  for  more 
minutes  of  the  school  hour.  Ambition  for  leader- 
ship and  responsibility  grows.  For  a  few  years  there 
is  a  tendency  to  secretiveness :  the  pupil  wants  sym- 


68     CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

pathy  with  his  problems  and  trials  and  light  on  the 
solution  of  them;  but  he  is  averse  to  questions  or 
situations  that  call  for  self-revelation  or  draw  public 
attention.  People  may  notice  him  when  he  is  put- 
ting through  some  successful  feat :  at  other  times  he 
shuns  pubUcity.  A  deep  religious  concern  may  mask 
itself  back  of  a  most  discouraging  appearance  of  in- 
difference, cynicism  or  rebellion. 

Administratively,  our  answer  to  these  facts  will 
come  first  of  all  in  a  larger  emphasis  on  class  life. 
We  will  train  and  furnish  to  each  class  a  wise  and 
competent  teacher,  usually  but  not  necessarily  of  the 
same  sex.  We  will  give  each  class  wherever  possible 
its  own  room,  lengthen  the  period  of  class  instruc- 
tion, allow  some  freedom  as  to  lesson  courses  and 
more  as  to  methods  of  following  the  course,  encour- 
age selection  of  special  objects  of  giving  and  service 
and  provide  for  class  organization  as  a  means  to  ef- 
fective class  activity. 

For  the  management  of  the  intermediate  and 
senior  departments,  separately  or  together  as  condi- 
tions may  determine,  we  will  look  to  a  council  of 
class  presidents,  with  the  departmental  or  divisional 
counselor  as  adult  guide  and  the  pastor  and  super- 
intendent as  privileged  but  not  controlling  ex-officio 
members.  Teachers  will  assist  in  the  departmental 
administration  according  to  their  capacity  for  ren- 
dering service.  One  may  prove  a  good  leader  for 
girls*  activities,  another  for  those  of  the  boys.  One 
may  lead  in  the  dramatic  or  the  musical  activities 
of  the  departments,  while  another  assists  in  the  les- 
son handwork  and  a  third  keeps  track  of  the  memr 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  69 

orizing  assignments  in  the  several  grades.  There 
may  be  a  missionary  specialist  and  a  leader  in  tem- 
perance activities.  Frequently  it  will  be  better  for 
one  or  more  of  these  specialties  to  be  in  the  hands 
of  a  supervisor  for  the  department  or  the  division  of 
the  school,  with  no  class  responsibility.  The  coun- 
selor will  necessarily  exercise  headship  over  the 
adult  functions  thus  provided  for;  but  toward  the 
pupils  and  the  classes  service,  advice  and  coopera- 
tion will  be  the  attitude  rather  than  authority  and' 
control.  Increase  in  the  pupils'  capacity  for  respon- 
sibility and  power  to  get  results  will  be  one  measure 
of  success  for  this  division. 

In  the  young  people's  department  proper,  eighteen 
to  twenty- four,  we  meet  the  desire  and  the  capacity 
for  the  sexes  to  work  and  play  together ;  and  a  mixed 
class  for  general  Bible  study  may  be  our  answer, 
with  no  distinction  of  sex  in  the  training  class  and 
other  special  groups.  We  find  also  a  keen  sense  of 
need  for  preparation  for  the  coming  responsibilities 
of  life  and  a  capacity  for  handling  some  adult  trusts 
in  church  and  community.  A  fit  answer  to  these 
characteristics  would  be  some  plan  by  which  the  full 
responsibility  for  administering  all  the  church's  work 
for  its  young  people  of  these  and  adjacent  ages  was 
turned  over  to  its  young  people;  the  needed  adult 
service  to  be  supplied  as  the  young  people  them- 
selves might  seek  it. 

(c)  Adult  Division. — Childhood  and  youth  being 
the  formative  periods  for  character  and  personal  re- 
ligion, our  school  work  for  the  adults  must  consider 
first  of  all  their  relation  to  our  program  for  these 


70     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIKTSTEATION 

earlier  ages.  Secondarily,  it  will  cover  the  needs  and 
possibilities  of  adult  education  for  the  sake  of  the 
men  and  women  themselves  and  the  various  pieces 
of  world-work  they  are  doing.  A  third  aim  is  found 
in  the  advances  to  be  secured  through  adult  educa- 
tion in  the  methods  and  standards  of  church,  com- 
munity and  civic  life. 

Full  freedom  for  each  class  and  department  in  this 
division  is  of  course  implied;  all  management  being 
by  way  of  advice,  suggestion  and  invitation.  A  rep- 
resentative adult  council,  including  the  superin- 
tendent and  the  pastor,  will  be  the  natural  organ  of 
leadership;  though  a  superintendent  of  adult  in- 
struction and  activities  may  be  found  useful,  as  the 
council's  executive  officer. 

Permission  for  each  adult  class  to  meet  in  its 
own  room  for  the  entire  hour  should  be  cheerfully 
given.  There  are  other  and  better  ways  of  conserv- 
ing school  unity  than  by  demanding  participation  by 
all  in  a  common  weekly  service  of  worship.  If  any 
class,  however,  wishes  to  be  so  included,  it  should  be 
made  welcome. 


8.     Grades  and  Promotions. 

(a)  Yearly  Grading. — A  grade  (Latin,  gradus,  a 
step)  is  a  period  in  the  school  life  of  a  pupil,  and  in 
the  collective  life  of  the  pupil-body.  It  implies 
standard  age-limits,  a  set  of  studies  and  activities 
adapted  to  age  and  capacity,  and  promotion  when 
the  graded  period  is  complete.  This  period,  for  the 
church  school,  is  ordinarily  one  year,  as  in  the  public 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  71 

school;  though  the  departmental  method  extends  it 
to  three  years. 

Whether  the  school  niimber  twenty  or  five  hun- 
dred, it  is  equally  desirable  that  each  pupil  of  grow- 
ing years  shall  be  rated  as  to  the  year  of  his  graded 
standing  in  the  school  plan.  In  the  large  school  there 
will  be  at  least  one  class  of  boys  and  one  of  girls  for 
each  year.  Where  limits  of  number  make  the  full 
set  of  classes  impossible,  one  class  may  represent 
two  or  three  grades ;  but  careful  note  should  be  kept 
of  the  grades  thus  combined.  In  the  little  school  one 
class  may  hold  all  the  boys  and  girls  of  junior  age. 
Such  a  school  will  naturally  grade  on  the  three-year 
plan. 

In  the  fully  graded  church  school  there  is  for  each 
yearly  grade  a  distinct  lesson  course,  taught  every 
year  to  the  pupils  who  occupy  that  grade  that  year. 
Every  pupil  gets  the  full  curriculum  as  planned  for 
the  pupils  of  his  age ;  and  he  gets  it  in  the  designed 
logical  order.  In  thousands  of  American  schools 
this  system  is  at  work  and  smoothly  running. 

(b)  Departmaital  Grading. — In  the  small  school, 
and  in  the  larger  school  where  a  simpler  mechanism 
seems  called  for,  it  is  possible  under  the  three-year 
departmental  classification  to  grade  departmentally, 
three  years  at  a  time.  The  primary  department  will 
then  be  one  grade  three  years  long,  the  junior  one, 
and  so  on.  Qasses  with  this  range  of  ages  may  then 
be  formed  from  the  primary  department  and  moved 
unbroken  up  the  graded  scale,  changing  teachers 
every  three  years  and  getting  a  closely  graded  cur- 
riculum in  its  logical  order.     Or,  we  may  promote 


72      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

pupils  each  year,  singly  in  a  small  school,  by  classes 
in  a  large  one.  The  pupils  will  then  get  the  three 
years  of  each  departmental  course  in  three  different 
orders,  this  year's  class  i,  2,  3,  next  year's  2,  3,  i,  and 
that  of  the  year  after  3,  i,  2. 

By  the  whole-class  departmental  plan  one-third 
of  the  pupils  are  liable  to  be  a  year  younger  than  the 
central  year  of  the  grade  and  one-third  a  year  older. 
This  maladjustment  will  continue  as  to  these  pupils 
to  the  end  of  their  stay  in  the  school.  By  the  an- 
nual-promotion departmental  plan  two-thirds  of  the 
pupils,  as  we  have  seen,  will  get  their  studies  in  an 
illogical  order.  The  small  school  must  accept  one  or 
the  other  of  these  alternatives,  making  up  for  the 
disadvantage  by  closer  work  with  the  individual 
pupils.  The  large  school  which  for  convenience  or 
some  other  reason  prefers  to  work  departmentally 
should  consider  what  its  children  under  this  plan  will 
necessarily  lose. 

(c)  Promotions. — Under  any  plan  of  departmental 
organization  separations  must  necessarily  take  place 
between  pupils  and  teacher.  These  being  usually 
painful,  the  graded  administration  must  at  this  point 
prepare  for  trouble.  This,  however,  is  not  hard  to 
do.  When  we  rouse  the  pupil's  ambition  to  go  on  to 
the  next  higher  grade  we  have  forestalled  half  the 
trouble.  When  we  interest  the  teacher  in  the  con- 
structive problems  of  his  department  and  make  him 
a  member  of  a  faculty  of  specialists  we  have  met 
the  other  half.  A  bright,  impressive  Promotion  Day 
service,  with  welcomes  by  each  set  of  pupils  to  those 
coming  up   from  the   department  below,  will  then 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  73 

carry  us  over  the  dead  center  and  make  the  once 
dreaded  separations  a  means  of  educational  enthu- 
siasm. 

9.    Class  Organization.  • 

The  law  of  education  through  voluntary  self-ac- 
tivity and  the  law  of  social  education  through  group 
activities  unite  to  call  for  class  organization  as  a 
means  to  class  activity.  Each  class,  from  the  juniors 
up,  should  be  challenged  to  be  more  than  a  mere 
group  of  learners  around  a  teacher.  They  can  and 
they  should  be  a  force,  first  for  themselves  and  their 
teacher,  then  for  their  fellows  of  like  age  and  sex 
in  the  commimity,  then  for  the  department  and  the 
school,  then  for  the  church  and  the  neighbourhood 
and  then  for  the  world. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  act  together  the  class  must 
have  officers ;  and  to  emphasize  their  unity  of  pur- 
pose they  must  have  a  name.  To  facilitate  inter- 
school  cooperation  and  to  encourage  maintenance 
of  established  standards,  the  adolescent  classes  may 
properly  be  registered  at  denominational  or  associa- 
tion headquarters.  But  emphasis  should  be  placed  on 
the  vitality  of  the  organization  and  its  relation  to  the 
work  to  be  done,  rather  than  on  its  official  regularity. 

Adult  classes  have  a  definite  standard  of  organi- 
zation, first  formulated  and  promoted  by  the  Inter- 
national Sunday-school  Association,  which  requires 
five  officers,  including  the  teacher,  and  three  commit- 
tees, as  a  prerequisite  of  official  recognition  by  head- 
quarters authority.  It  is  further  provided  that  the 
committees  in  their  work  must  cover  membership. 


74      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

social,  devotional  and  missionary  activities.  For  the 
classes  of  the  young  people's  division  no  set  form  of 
organization  is  demanded ;  but  a  president  and  secre- 
tary are  clearly  necessary,  and  a  treasurer  usually  so. 
Definite  duties  for  each  office  should  be  prescribed. 
Committees  as  a  rule  should  be  for  specific  tasks  and 
may  be  discharged  when  these  are  accomplished. 

In  the  junior  department  the  classes  may  also 
have  a  very  simple  organization,  to  facilitate  de- 
partmental and  school  work  and  train  for  the  class 
activities  of  the  intermediate  department. 

Assignments 

1.  (l)  What  ages  were  embraced  in  the  original 
Sunday  schools,  and  why?  (2)  Describe  the  intro- 
duction of  adult  and  infant  schools.  (3)  Describe 
the  old-fashioned  primary  department. 

2.  (i)  For  what  period  did  the  doctrine  prevail 
that  all  the  school  should  study  the  same  lesson? 
(2)  How  came  all  schools  to  study  the  same  lesson 
together?  (3)  Mention  a  few  institutions  that  grew 
up  around  the  idea  of  lesson  uniformity. 

3.  Why  consider  the  special  needs  of  the  little 
Sunday  school? 

3a.  Give  a  plan  for  a  five-class  Sunday  school, 
with  name  and  age-limits  for  each  class. 

3b.     Expand  this  to  fit  a  ten-class  school. 

4.  How  would  you  organize  the  departments  in 
a  church  school  of  250  members  ? 

5.  ^  (i)  A  junior  worker  is  to  be  principal  of  the 
new  intermediate  department.  Caution  him  as  to  his 
junior  experience,  giving  reasons,  and  direct  him  to 
the  proper  sources  for  his  plans  of  organization  and 


DEPAETMENTS  AND  CLASSES  75 

management.  (2)  A  last-year  junior  teacher  is  sure 
that  her  dear  boys  require  her  continued  service  for 
one  year  longer;  so  she  insists  on  being  promoted 
with  the  class.  Show  her  why  you  cannot  grant  the 
request.  (3)  Why  should  the  principal  of  an  adoles- 
cent department  consider  himself  as  first  of  all  a 
counselor  ? 

6.  Without  a  separate  room,  what  can  a  junior 
superintendent  do? 

7.  Selecting  any  two  of  the  departments,  give  the 
salient  features  of  the  grading,  leadership  and  han- 
dling of  those  departments. 

7c.    Aims  of  the  teaching  in  the  adult  division. 

8a.  (i)  What  is  a  grade  in  a  church  school? 
(2)  How  would  you  keep  track  of  the  pupils'  graded 
standing  ? 

8b.  (i)  When  is  departmental  grading  a  neces- 
sity? (2)  What  two  plans  of  handling  promotions 
are  possible  in  a  school  departmentally  graded?  (3) 
What  are  the  educational  advantages  of  grading  by 
years  rather  than  by  three-year  periods?  (4)  In  a 
school  where  grading  by  years  is  possible,  how  are 
the  children  benefited  by  departmental  grading? 

8c.  How  may  we  forestall  the  reluctance  of  classes 
and  teachers  to  separate  when  promotions  make  this 
necessary  ? 

9.  ( I )  Give,  in  proper  order,  the  steps  to  take  in 
organizing  a  class  in  the  young  people's  division. 
(2)  What  are  the  standard  requirements  for  head- 
quarters recognition  of  an  organized  adult  class? 


IV 

THE  TEACHING  STAFF 

1.  The  Ungraded  Teacher. 

In  the  Sunday-school  Hterature  of  the  nineteenth 
century  we  find  constantly  held  up  the  concept  of 
"  the  Sunday-school  teacher,"  his  qualifications  and 
duties,  his  proper  methods  of  study  and  teaching,  the 
rewards  of  his  labour,  without  reference  to  any  grade 
or  age  for  which  his  teaching  is  to  be  utilized.  In 
the  Rev,  John  Todd's  admirable  treatise  on  "  The 
Sabbath-school  Teacher,"  for  instance  (1837),  there 
is  one  chapter  on  "  Infant  Sabbath  Schools,"  and  the 
methods  appropriate  to  that  desirable  but  then  by  no 
means  common  adjunct  to  the  Sunday  school  proper; 
and  for  the  rest  there  is  no  hint  that  one  teacher 
has  any  task  different  from  that  of  any  other.  In 
Dr.  H.  Clay  Trumbull's  "  Teaching  and  Teachers," 
(1884),  which  for  years  was  the  standard  treatment 
of  the  subject,  neither  the  primary  teacher  nor  any 
other  graded  worker  is  once  mentioned.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  uniform  lesson  idea  is  evident,  in  thus 
obliterating,  so  late  as  1884,  all  distinctions  of  func- 
tion in  the  general  task  of  teaching  a  class  in  the 
Sunday  school. 

2.  Departmental  Specialization. 

(a)  Primary  Specialisation. — From  the  early  days, 
nevertheless,  the  infant  or  primary  teacher  has  held 

76 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  77 

her  own  as  a  specialist  among  the  Sunday-school 
teachers.  While  the  others  were  usually  traveling 
with  their  unpromoted  pupils  over  the  whole  floor  of 
the  "  main  room," — educational  nomads — she,  in  her 
separate  room,  was  constantly  receiving  the  very  lit- 
tle children  and  more  or  less  regularly  promoting 
those  who  had  outgrown  her  instruction  and  the  fel- 
lowship and  discipline  of  her  class.  By  force  of 
these  conditions,  therefore,  she  was  a  graded  teacher. 

What  followed?  Just  what  follows  when  a  tribe 
of  nomads  attains  the  agricultural  stage  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  primary  teacher,  working  for  the  same 
ages  year  after  year,  amassed  educational  property 
and  became  the  expert  among  her  fellows.  Amid  a 
host  of  tutors,  each  interested  solely  in  the  problem 
of  how  to  teach  to  his  own  group  of  permanent 
charges  next  Sunday's  lesson,  she  alone  was  a 
teacher,  interested  in  the  broader  task  of  wisely 
teaching  all  children  of  a  certain  age  and  eager  for 
help  on  this  her  specialty.  Hence  the  primary  unions 
(1870  and  later);  the  National  Primary  Union 
(1884),  with  its  monthly  bulletins  for  primary  teach- 
ers ;  the  development  of  primary  leaders ;  the  "  Sum- 
mer School  of  Primary  Methods"  (1894);  the 
tendency,  shown  at  least  as  early  as  1869,  to  give 
these  workers  the  privilege  of  one  or  more  special 
sessions  at  the  National  or  International  Convention. 
"  To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given." 

Before  1890  a  few  American  workers  were  ex- 
perimenting with  the  "  junior  class "  midway  be- 
tween the  primary  department  and  the  main  room. 
By  1900  both  the  junior  department  and  the  begin- 


78     CHTJECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

ners*  department  were  recognized  as  standard  units 
of  gradation ;  and  fellowships  were  forming  of  per- 
manent workers  in  these  departments. 

(b)  In  the  Upper  School. — Slowly  the  principle  of 
specialization  was  extended  to  the  teachers  of  the 
intermediate  and  senior  classes.  Among  these  teach- 
ers it  is  still  far  from  acceptance  in  the  average 
Sunday  school.  But  the  number  of  upper-grade 
teachers  who,  singly  or  through  the  organizing  of 
departments,  have  accepted  a  graded  relation  to  a 
limited  age  rather  than  to  a  permanent  group  of 
pupils  is  steadily  growing;  and  with  it  is  growing 
the  power  and  permanence  of  church-school  educa- 
tion for  the  ages  concerned. 

To-day  we  seldom  hear  of  "  the  Sunday-school 
teacher,"  except  in  reference  to  the  department  in 
which  he  specializes.  The  modern  church  school,  by 
relating  every  teacher  to  his  department  through  in- 
sistence on  the  annual  promotion  of  pupils,  secures 
for  all  its  teachers  those  educational  benefits  formerly 
gained  by  the  primary  teachers  alone.  Whenever  a 
teacher  for  personal  reasons  is  allowed  to  go  with 
the  class  to  the  next  higher  department,  we  revert 
to  the  nomadic  stage  of  civilization  and  abandon  the 
store  of  experience  and  teaching  material  gathered 
in  work  with  the  ages  left  behind;  for  nothing  is 
more  certain  than  that  these  same  pupils  cannot  be 
taught  for  the  next  three  years  in  the  same  way  in 
which  they  have  been  taught  for  the  last  three. 

(c)  Consequences. — Where  then  are  the  old  values 
of  "  the  Sunday-school  teacher,"  as  eloquently  set 
forth  by  Todd,  Trumbull  and  a  hundred  others  in 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  79 

the  books,  journals,  reports  and  hymn-books  of  days 
gone  by?  They  are  all  here  in  the  graded  church 
school,  alongside  many  other  values  with  which  the 
fathers  did  not  reckon.  But  they  have  been  dis- 
tributed. We  no  longer  expect  one  worker  to  em- 
body so  many  excellences,  discharge  such  varied  re- 
sponsibilities and  attack  so  impossible  a  task.  We 
are  therefore  less  frequently  disappointed.  We  do 
not  presume  to  better  the  beautiful  service  of  those 
honoured  saints  who  now  and  in  our  memories  il- 
lustrate what  a  Sunday-school  teacher  may  some- 
times be.  But  the  average  product  of  all  our  teach- 
ers is  much  more  dependable;  and  the  human  wast- 
age through  failure  of  the  system  to  function  has 
been  sensibly  reduced. 

3.     Department  Principals. 

(a)  In  the  Children's  Division. — For  each  of  the 
three  standard  departments  of  this  division  there  is 
needed  a  department  superintendent  or  principal.  A 
divisional  principal  may  also  be  found  or  designated ; 
especially  if  among  the  workers  is  one  qualified  to 
guide  and  inspire  the  others,  or  one  who  will  seek 
such  power  through  attendance  at  the  summer  school 
or  the  weekly  community  training  school. 

The  cradle  roll  department,  not  being  charged  with 
a  task  of  instruction  like  those  of  the  other  three,  is 
referred  to  a  superintendent,  whose  duties  involve 
visitation  and  correspondence.  Where  the  three- 
year-olds  are  taught  in  a  cradle-roll  class  on  Sunday, 
the  princlpalship  of  this  service  usually  is  with  the 
beginners'  department. 


80      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIOTSTKATION 

Each  principal  is  or  should  be  in  ftill  charge  of 
the  class  teachers  of  the  department.  Both  the  super- 
intendent as  manager  and  the  educational  director 
as  teacher-in-chief  should  aim  to  deal  with  these 
teachers  only  through  their  respective  heads.  The 
principal  should  be  held  responsible  for  the  regular 
attendance  and  loyal  service  of  each  teacher,  and  for 
his  success  in  lesson  work,  class  activities  and  prep- 
arations for  the  pupils'  annual  promotion  and  par- 
ticipation in  seasonal  events.  In  finding  substitutes 
and  recruits  for  vacant  places  the  superintendent  and 
the  principal  will  of  course  cooperate. 

The  good  department  principal  is  the  friend  and 
associate  of  each  teacher.  She  coaches  new  teachers 
as  to  their  tasks,  particularly  as  to  ways  of  making 
a  success  of  the  lesson  teaching,  the  stories,  hand- 
work, memory  work  and  class  activities.  She  holds 
meetings  of  the  teachers  for  discussion  of  depart- 
ment problems  and  reports  on  the  progress  of  the 
pupils.  In  some  departments  the  principal  meets 
separately  the  teachers  of  each  of  the  three  grades, 
discussing  with  them  the  stories  for  the  following 
month.  Such  departmental  supervision  by  a  mature 
and  qualified  principal  insures  for  each  class  a  defi- 
nite standard  of  teaching  and  watch-care  and  so 
makes  it  wise  to  use  young  and  inexperienced  ap- 
prentice teachers  where  better  are  not  yet  available. 

In  the  children's  division,  however,  still  more  than 
in  the  upper  grades,  the  class  teacher  does  not  do  all 
the  teaching.  In  the  beginners'  department  the  teach- 
ers are  largely  helpers,  dividing  with  the  principal 
the  personal  care  of  the  little  children.    In  the  pri- 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  81 

mary  department  the  lesson  stories  are  told  and  the 
drill  work  is  done  by  the  class  teachers,  while  the 
principal  does  the  work  of  seasonal  teaching,  leads 
in  the  songs,  plays,  prayers  and  giving  service,  and 
in  fact  is  still  as  of  old  in  large  degree  "  the  pri- 
mary teacher."  In  the  junior  department  the  desk 
work  by  the  principal  is  of  great  significance  as  a 
habit-forming  influence  and  a  school  of  social  re- 
lations; though  here  the  class  teaching  holds  a  rela- 
tively larger  place. 

{b)  In  the  Upper  School. — Without  a  well-marked 
distinction  between  the  intermediate,  the  senior  and 
the  young  people's  departments  no  systematic  course 
of  studies  can  be  maintained  by  the  church  school, 
nor  can  a  graded  series  of  educational  activities  be 
undertaken.  In  most  churches  and  communities, 
also,  the  adolescent  pupils  are  connected  with  many 
other  instructive,  expressive  and  recreational  organ- 
izations; and  to  correlate  these  into  a  unified  re- 
ligious education  for  each  boy  and  girl  is  not  easy. 
The  church  school  therefore  needs  for  each  of  its 
three  adolescent  departments  a  principal,  to  handle 
well  its  own  educational  program,  and  to  labour  for 
bringing  into  relation  with  this  all  other  educational 
opportunities  which  the  principal's  pupils  do  or 
might  enjoy.  A  divisional  superintendent  for  the 
young  people's  division  as  a  whole  is  also  highly  de- 
sirable. 

Toward  the  pupils,  as  we  have  seen,*  the  depart- 
ment principal  acts  as  counselor,  encouraging  each 
individual  to  think  of  himself  as  the  active  and  re- 
'  Chapter  III,  Sees.  5,  7. 


82      CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMIKESTRATION 

sponsible  agent  in  whatever  is  done,  and  doing  him- 
self as  little  as  possible.  But  toward  teachers  and 
other  adult  workers,  and  in  the  department  whenever 
necessary,  his  authority  as  principal  is  complete.  He 
may  or  may  not  have  a  separate  room,  which  for  the 
intermediate  department  is  especially  desirable.  One 
principal  may  in  some  cases  wisely  have  charge  of 
the  intermediate  and  senior  departments  together. 
In  a  small  school  a  divisional  superintendent  can 
often  furnish  all  the  leadership  required. 
Duties  of  the  principal  include : 

(i)  Maintenance  of  punctuality  and  order. 

(2)  Supervision  of  attendance  records,  with  steps 
to  secure  regularity  and  increase. 

(3)  Supervision  of  class  teaching.  This  is  some- 
thing the  old-line  Simday-school  superintendent  sel- 
dom thought  of  attempting. 

(4)  Management  of  the  departmental  substitute 
service. 

(5)  Coaching  of  new  and  temporary  teachers. 

(6)  .Stimulation  of  pupils  in  lesson  study,  supple- 
mental drill-work,  pageant  and  exhibit  work  and  the 
finishing  of   requirements   for  honorary   promotion. 

(7)  Counselor  service  with  class  presidents  and 
the  departmental  council. 

(8)  In  a  separate  room,  supervision  of  the  wor- 
ship and  desk  service  as  conducted,  for  the  most 
part,  by  pupil-leaders. 

(9)  Supervision  of  service  and  missionary  activi- 
ties by  classes  and  the  department. 

(10)  Correlation  of  Boy  Scout  and  kindred  ac- 
tivities with  the  educational  program  of  the  depart- 
ment. 

Full  discharge  of  these  responsibilities  will  nat- 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  83 

urally  call  for  a  staff  of  departmental  assistants  and 
supervisors.  Full  correlation  with  the  extra-de- 
partmental activities  cannot  be  accomplished  without 
help  from  the  church  through  its  church  committee 
and  its  director  of  education.  The  superintendent 
should  consider  which  of  these  functions  can  safely 
be  neglected,  and  what  responsibility  he  himself  as- 
sumes if  he  decides  that  there  is  no  need  of  a  prin- 
cipal for  each  of  these  departments. 

4.     Departmental  Staffs. 

The  average  church  school  has  too  few  specialized 
departmental  workers.  Just  as  the  superintendent 
needs  his  cabinet,  so  does  the  principal  need  his  staff. 
He  should  not  rest  until  every  necessary  or  facilitat- 
ing function  is  in  the  hands  of  a  trained  helper  who 
does  not  also  regularly  teach  a  class.  These  special- 
ists, with  the  possible  exception  of  the  department 
secretary,  are  to  be  considered  as  teachers  working 
in  the  staff  rather  than  in  the  line. 

Assuming  that  the  three  lower  departments  have 
rooms  of  their  own,  separate  and  sound-proof,  with 
full  session  time  except  on  festival  occasions,  the 
primary  department  will  need  its  song  leader  and 
accompanist,  its  secretary  and  assistant  secretary 
(where  the  department  is  large),  and  usually  also  its 
supervisors  of  the  memory  tasks  included  in  the 
graded  course  and  of  those  technical  details  of  hand- 
work on  which  all  teachers  cannot  be  expected  to 
specialize.  The  beginners'  department  will  need  less 
than  this  and  the  junior  department  more,  including 
a  librarian. 


84      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

For  the  junior  department,  or  the  junior  and  in- 
termediate departments  combined,  a  supervisor  of 
map  work  has  been  found  by  some  schools  a  valu- 
able assistance.  Such  a  worker  should  have  a  geog- 
raphy room  as  workshop,  with  its  equipment  of  maps, 
blackboard,  sand  table,  work  table  and  running 
water,  and  should  receive  one  class  after  another 
for  a  short  course  on  Bible  geography,  the  teacher 
studying  with  the  pupils  and  afterwards  seeing  to  the 
completion  by  his  class  of  the  handwork  undertaken. 
Such  work  as  this  should  of  course  be  done  in  the 
week-day  school;  but  the  church  school  that  would 
teach  the  Bible  vividly  cannot  afford  to  see  it  left 
imdone. 

While  the  map  teacher  is  thus  engaged,  the  mem- 
ory supervisor  may  hang  on  the  wall  charts  of  the 
names  of  the  Bible  books  and  other  drill  matter,  with 
lists  of  the  passages  each  grade  is  expected  to  master 
for  the  quarter,  and  may  conduct  brief  drills  to  stim- 
ulate and  examine  on  the  work  thus  advertised. 
Each  specialist  will  in  like  manner  magnify  his  as- 
signment, the  principal  organizing  the  efforts  so  as  to 
secure  a  unified  curriculum  of  supplemental  instruc- 
tion. 

5.    The  Substitute  Service. 

(a)  By  Staff  Organization. — To  be  ever  seeking 
substitutes  for  classes  unexpectedly  vacant  is  the 
penalty  the  superintendent  must  pay  for  poor  organ- 
ization. If  this  were  all,  we  might  leave  him  to  pay 
it  till  experience  made  him  wise.  But  the  class  must 
pay  the  larger  share,  in  discontinuous  lesson  service 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  85 

weaker  interest  and  lowered  standards.  Not  the 
least  of  the  gains  of  firm  departmental  organization 
is  the  better  substitute  service  thereby  made  possible. 
Similarly,  the  reward  to  the  department  principal 
for  training  a  staff  of  assisting  specialists  is  the  avail- 
ability of  these  as  substitutes  during  the  class  lesson 
period.  Each  must  be  familiar  with  the  lesson 
courses  used  in  the  department;  and  even  on  a  sud- 
den call  he  can  take  up  the  thread  of  the  quarter's 
teaching  and  carry  it  along.  The  staff  worker,  even 
if  not  fully  occupied  every  Sunday,  has  a  good  rea- 
son for  regular  attendance  and  so  is  ready  on  call. 
When  substituting,  a  pupil  can  be  put  in  charge  of 
class  order  for  the  brief  periods  when  necessary  staff 
work  is  to  be  done. 

(b)  By  Understudies. — Where  full  departmental 
organization  has  not  yet  been  established,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  upper  classes,  every  teacher  may  be 
asked  to  secure  a  competent  understudy  or  permanent 
substitute,  preferably  a  member  of  the  family  or 
near  neighbour.  This  friend  is  to  study  regularly 
the  lesson  followed  by  this  class  and  may  be  enrolled 
in  the  home  department  and  his  work  recorded  and 
reported  there.  The  school  will  supply  his  pupil's 
and  teacher's  books,  to  be  returned  to  the  library 
when  the  quarter's  work  is  finished.  As  assistant 
teacher  he  will  be  asked  to  visit  occasionally  the  class 
in  session  and  to  attend  some  of  its  week-day  gather- 
ings. Some  large  Sunday  schools,  organized  on  the 
older  lines,  have  found  it  possible  to  give  such  a 
backing  to  every  teacher  in  the  main  room. 

(c)  By  Pupil-Teachers. — V^Tiere  the  school  has  a 


86     CHUECH'SCHOOL  ADMIKISTEATION 

fully  developed  training  department,  the  furnishing 
of  pupil-teachers  as  monthly  observers  and  assist- 
ants in  the  lower  departments  and  as  weekly  sub- 
stitutes in  the  upper  classes  will  form  a  regular  part 
of  the  three-year  training  course/ 

(d)  Regulations. — Under  any  of  these  plans,  or 
where  all  are  combined,  some  such  rules  as  these 
should  be  discussed,  adopted,  explained  to  all  incom- 
ing teachers  and  enforced : 

( 1 )  Every  teacher  is  responsible  for  the  filling  of 
his  place  every  Sunday.  When  obliged  to  be  absent 
he  must  notify  his  principal  or  the  officer  in  charge 
and  do  his  part  in  providing  for  his  substitute. 
Where  an  emergency  makes  notice  impossible,  an  ex- 
planation is  expected. 

(2)  Where  a  teacher's  absences  average  one  a 
month,  he  is  expected  to  find  and  provide  a  compe- 
tent understudy.  (If  all  teachers  are  to  be  so  re- 
quired, change  wording  to  read,  "  Every  teacher  is 
expected,"  etc.) 

(3)  Understudies  who  have  registered  with  the 
secretary  and  been  approved  by  the  superintendent 
and  principal  will  be  counted  as  assistant  teachers 
on  the  roll  of  the  workers'  conference.  They  are  in- 
vited to  unite  with  the  home  department,  pursuing 
their  class  lessons  as  their  allotted  home  study. 

(4)  Substitute  service  includes  not  merely  attend- 
ance and  the  teaching  of  a  lesson  but  the  maintenance 
without  break  of  the  regular  teacher's  lesson  plan 
for  the  quarter. 

(5)  Where  full  substitute  service  has  been  pro- 
vided for  the  class,  whether  by  stafif  teaching  or 
supply  from  the  training  department,  after  previous 
notice  of  intended  absence,  or  by  the  sending  of  a 

*  See  Chapter  VIII,  5. 


THE  TEACHING  STAPF  87 

registered  understudy  prepared  to  teach  the  lesson, 
the  absent  teacher  will  be  credited  with  attendance; 
provided,  that  on  notice  and  staff  supply  only  one 
Sunday  per  month  will  be  so  credited. 

In  schools  where  the  classes  still  look  directly  to 
the  superintendent  for  their  leadership,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  substitute  service  should  be  specialized 
in  the  hands  of  the  associate  superintendent.  He 
should  then  organize  a  substitute  corps,  providing 
each  member  with  the  helps  needed  in  the  grades  he 
is  especially  to  cover. 

6.    Upper- Grade  Teaching. 

(a)  Exacting  Requirements. — In  the  senior  and 
young  people's  classes,  with  their  closer  organization, 
wider  outlook  and  more  advanced  studies,  the  task 
of  successfully  holding,  teaching  and  inspiring  the 
pupils  is  more  difficult  and  the  teaching  places  are 
correspondingly  harder  to  fill.  A  like  patience  and 
sympathy  is  required  as  with  the  work  in  the  lower 
grades,  equal  skill  in  the  technique  of  teaching,  equal 
experience  and  insight  into  the  peculiarities  of  the 
ages  dealt  with,  and  a  much  wider  range  of  culture 
and  general  and  Biblical  knowledge.  There  is  also 
usually  less  cooperation  from  the  department  prin- 
cipal. Each  class  lives  largely  to  itself  and  the 
teacher  must  meet  his  problems  alone. 

(b)  Compensating  Advantages. — Fortunately  for 
the  church-school  enterprise,  the  rewards  of  appre- 
ciation and  pupil-friendship  earned  by  the  devoted 
and  successful  upper-grade  teacher  are  proportion- 
ately great.    The  young  people  can  and  do  express 


88      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

themselves.  In  a  few  years  of  continuous  and  prop- 
erly organized  work,  graduates  of  the  class  will  in 
church  and  community  be  carrying  on  its  ideals  and 
practicing  its  lessons;  and  one  by  one  the  honours 
will  return  to  him  who  has  fitted  them  for  service. 
But  apart  from  these  future  expectations,  the  teach- 
ing of  any  such  class  brings  each  week  its  sufficient 
reward.  It  is  hard  to  induce  a  busy  and  able  busi- 
ness or  professional  man  to  consider  the  taking  of 
such  a  class;  but  once  he  is  led  to  try,  three  weeks 
generally  settles  the  matter  for  a  term  of  years. 

Nothing  but  the  lesson  teaching  should  be  expected 
of  the  upper-grade  teacher.  He  will  indeed  wish  to 
interest  himself  in  the  life  of  his  students ;  but  all 
routine  responsibilities  should  be  put  up  to  the  class 
officers.  If  all  classes  from  the  juniors  up  have  for 
some  years  been  organized  and  at  work,  a  senior 
class  will  not  only  run  itself  but  with  the  guidance 
of  the  department  counselor  may  be  left  to  work  out 
its  own  social  and  altruistic  program;  the  teacher 
aiding  as  his  time  and  inclination  may  allow. 

Where  a  new  teacher  is  needed  for  a  senior  or 
young  people's  class,  the  leaders  of  the  school  may 
properly  decide  who  is  qualified  for  such  a  service; 
but  the  work  of  getting  the  teacher  should  be  put  up 
to  the  class  itself.  An  appeal  from  a  delegation  of 
earnest  youth,  backed  by  the  superintendent,  is  hard 
to  resist.  After  such  action,  moreover,  the  class  is 
committed  to  a  policy  of  loyalty  in  following  the 
teacher's  lesson  plans. 

(c)  The  Promotion  Problem. — Difficult  as  it  may 
be  to  secure  promotions  on  the  regular  age-lines  in 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  88 

these  upper  grades,  it  is  clear  that  if  the  group  of 
young  people  now  forming  the  class  is  allowed  to 
hold  together  indefinitely,  we  shall  erelong  have  a 
small  and  diminishing  adult  class  where  our  bright 
young  people's  class  was  a  few  years  ago.  Some  city 
schools  have,  on  the  women's  side  at  least,  a  collec- 
tion of  such  left-over  classes,  without  vitaUty  enough 
to  develop  programs  or  school  spirit  enough  to  be 
willing  to  merge  for  the  good  of  the  work  as  a  whole. 
Many  a  fine  teacher  has  dropped  out  of  the  school 
faculty  when  the  class  "  died  at  the  top."  Some 
strategic  senior  and  young  people's  classes,  also,  are 
in  the  hands  of  willing  and  pious  but  untrained  teach- 
ers whose  powers  no  longer  fit  their  pupils'  needs, 
and  who  hold  their  dwindling  circles  by  sheer  power 
of  affection  and  loyalty,  without  making  progress  in 
studies  or  in  Christian  training. 

This  indeed  is  but  half  of  the  problem.  The  other 
half  is  felt  below.  The  objection  most  frequently 
raised  against  the  promotion  of  a  pupil  or  a  class  out 
of  the  hands  of  a  fairly  successful  teacher  is,  "  What 
is  to  become  of  them,  with  nowhere  but  the  Bible 
class  to  go,  unless  they  are  put  into  that  class  of 
older  girls  (or  boys)  that  has  held  together  for  so 
long?"  Provide  a  series  of  fairly  steady  upper- 
grade  classes,  maintained  at  about  the  same  places 
year  after  year,  with  membership  reasonably  flexible, 
and  this  objection  is  answered. 

As  to  the  teachers,  the  potent  remedy  for  these 
unfortunate  conditions  is  the  placing  of  all  teaching 
appointments  strictly  on  an  annual  basis.  As  to  the 
pupils,  equal  relief  will  come  if  we  can  clear  our 


90      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIJSTISTEATION 

promotion  system  of  associations  with  the  methods  of 
promoting  the  Httle  children  and  can  introduce  asso- 
ciations with  high-school  and  college  occasions.  On 
Promotion  Day  handle  the  older  promotions  first,  or 
use  two  Sundays,  one  for  the  children's  promotions 
and  another  for  those  of  the  upper  school.  Make 
the  latter  as  dignified  as  the  exercises  of  a  college 
commencement,  and  draw  on  the  wisdom  of  the 
graduates  for  a  few  essays  based  on  recent  lines  of 
lesson  study.  At  suitable  times  earlier  in  the  year, 
take  time  to  show  the  upper  classes  the  arguments 
for  the  strict  promotion  policy.' 

Then,  if  by  workers'  council  action  it  is  made  the 
school  law  that  every  teacher  every  year  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  that  place  where,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
school  leadership,  he  can  do  his  best  work  for  the 
school,  and  if  the  solemn  reading  of  these  appoint- 
ments by  the  pastor,  with  subsequent  installations, 
can  be  made  an  annual  feature  of  the  school's  pro- 

'  Such  as  these :  While  for  next  year  no  great  harm  might 
be  done  by  our  letting  you  last-grade  young  men  and  women 
stay  unpromoted,  in  a  few  years  grave  injustice  would  be 
done  to  the  rights  of  the  younger  pupils  coming  on.  What 
would  happen  to  college  life  if  the  graduates  selfishly  stayed 
around,  hanging  on  to  their  accustomed  offices  and  priv- 
ileges? They  have  had  their  fair  turn;  let  them  now  move 
on,  so  as  to  keep  the  educational  system  in  at  least  as 
effective  condition  as  when  they  entered.  You  know  your 
respective  grades  in  our  system;  if  you  feel  that  you  prop- 
erly belong  in  the  grade  below,  we  will  consider  the  question 
of  demoting  you  a  3'ear  or  two.  But  if  you  belong  where 
you  are  now,  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number 
requires  that  you  help  us  to  keep  these  places  ready  for 
those  who  are  due  to  come  up  from  below.  The  leaders  in 
the  classes  to  which  j'ou  are  to  go  next  year  are  already 
making  plans  for  some  interesting  advances;  and  they  count 
on  your  help  in  putting  these  plans  over. 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  91 

(notion  system,  we  may  be  able  to  relieve  various 
situations,  while  giving  to  each  class  its  best  possible 
teacher  and  aiding  our  faithful  but  ill-placed  work- 
ers without  loss  of  face  to  find  their  post  of  largest 
service/ 

(d)  Short-Course  Senior  Classes. — Wherever  an 
interest  can  be  aroused  in  the  choice  of  lesson  courses 
by  the  older  classes,  to  the  end  of  acquiring  some 
definite  knowledge  or  skill,  and  teachers  competent 
to  present  such  courses  can  be  found,  it  becomes 
possible  to  deal  with  the  department  or  division  as 
the  fixed  and  permanent  unit ;  the  class  being  organ- 
ized around  the  course  which  it  is  to  pursue.  The 
training  class  of  young  people  meeting  at  the  school 
hour  is  a  familiar  example  of  this  plan.  Numerous 
interesting  and  profitable  electives  await  the  study 
of  such  pupil-groups.  The  International  Lesson 
Committee  has  prepared  outlines  of  Bible,  missionary 
and  social  service  studies  on  these  lines.  To  facili- 
tate the  use  of  this  and  like  material,  the  habit  of 
forming  short-term  classes  for  special  studies  should 
be  cultivated. 

7.    Wanted,  a  Vacancy. 

No  church-school  faculty  can  be  efficient  if  it  con- 
tains even  one  member  who  refuses  to  accept  the 
leader's  ideals  or  to  conform  to  his  methods.  Where 
a  group  of  such  stand  together  in  opposition,  the 
difficulties  are  increased.  Where  one  such  antago- 
nist or  indifferentist  occupies  a  leading  position  in  the 
school  and  has  powerful  church  connections,  the  way 
'  See  Chapter  VIII,  3. 


92     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

for  harmonious  educational  advance  seems  blocked 
indeed.  In  such  case,  what  can  the  superintendent 
do? 

(a)  Establish  the  Case. — First  of  all,  the  issue 
must  be  lifted  clear  of  all  personality.  The  teacher's 
right  to  a  poor  opinion  of  the  superintendent  is  as 
good  as  the  superintendent's  right  to  a  poor  opinion 
of  the  teacher.  Have  a  definite  standard  of  per- 
formance, low  and  reasonable  enough  for  any  faith- 
ful worker  to  reach.  Put  this  in  writing,  present  it 
to  the  workers'  council  and  have  it  considered  and 
voted  into  law.  Advertise  it  from  time  to  time,  so 
that  all  may  have  it  in  mind.  Then  see  that  fair  and 
pertinent  records  of  performance  are  kept  and  reg- 
ularly published  to  the  school,  so  that  each  worker's 
work  may  be  rated  as  above  or  below  the  standard. 
If  on  this  showing  any  worker's  standing  is  below 
par,  there  is  no  personality  in  the  calling  of  such 
worker  to  an  accounting,  in  the  interest  of  a  better 
performance  for  the  school. 

(b)  Facilitate  Acceptance. — Expect  the  best  of 
every  one.  Having  set  up  a  standard,  give  the  un- 
satisfactory worker  every  possible  chance  to  reach 
it.  Stimulate  him  to  new  efforts;  send  him  to  some 
convention  or  summer  school ;  lend  him  a  book  or 
article ;  explain  your  plans  and  the  reasons  why  they 
appeal  to  you;  show  the  results  of  such  service  as  he 
has  been  giving.  If  these  have  the  least  effect,  let 
him  have  full  credit  for  every  advance,  with  no 
reference  to  what  has  been.  The  finest  possible  so- 
lution of  the  situation  will  be  to  find  a  new  worker 
inside  the  old  one. 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  93 

(c)  Provide  the  Succession. — The  work  will  prob- 
ably in  any  event  be  the  better  for  the  presence  of  a 
young,  ambitious  and  studious  assistant  by  the  side 
of  the  worker  in  question.  At  any  rate,  find  and 
have  in  training  some  one  who  when  the  vacancy 
comes  will  be  ready  to  fill  it.  More  than  one  suck 
case  has  been  "  settled  out  of  court "  by  the  older 
worker  seeing  the  situation  from  the  higher  view- 
point and  presenting  his  resignation. 

(d)  Arrange  the  Alternative. — Nobody  enjoys  be- 
ing pushed  off  or  shoved  aside.  Much  useful  service 
has  been  lost  to  the  Sunday  school  for  lack  of  a 
study  of  what  the  retiring  worker  could  do.  The 
various  secretarial  and  staff  positions  in  the  modern 
church  school  offer  many  special  lines  of  usefulness 
that  can  be  prepared  for  occupancy  by  the  one  who 
for  no  reason  discreditable  to  him  is  no  longer  ef- 
ficient where  he  is  now.  Has  the  school  a  birthday 
secretary  ?  Is  Bible  memorizing  being  given  its  right- 
ful place?  Could  we  not  systematize  our  visitation 
of  absentees  or  the  distribution  of  papers  and 
flowers?  Has  the  home  department  all  the  visitors 
it  can  use?  In  making  his  final  move  in  the  matter 
positive  rather  than  negative,  the  superintendent  is 
building  efficiency  as  well  as  good-will. 

8.     The  Teachers'  Meeting. 

With  the  uniform  lesson  has  gone,  of  course,  the 
weekly  "  teachers'  meeting  "  for  lesson  preparation. 
But  the  need  for  meetings  of  the  teachers  has  grown 
with  the  growing  complexity  of  our  educational 
task.    Besides  the  teachers  and  their  principals  and 


94     CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

departmental  staffs,  the  general  officers  and  the 
presidents  of  the  older  classes  should  also  be  ejti- 
rolled.  The  whole  company  of  workers  should  then 
be  firmly  organized  into  a  workers'  council  and  called 
to  meet  statedly  in  conference.  Monthly  meetings 
are  more  likely  to  be  successful  and  well  attended 
than  those  held  less  often. 

As  suggested  in  Chapter  II,  this  meeting  should  be 
well  moderated,  and  the  hour  of  its  closing  should 
be  as  fixed  as  that  for  which  it  is  called.  The  pas- 
tor is  the  appropriate  presiding  officer,  with  the 
superintendent  at  his  right  hand  to  guide  the  pro- 
ceedings and  explain  matters  as  they  arise.  Time 
should  be  set  apart  for  real  devotions  and  also  for 
conference  on  the  spiritual  and  missionary  side  of 
the  school  work.  Business  should  come  up  in  the 
form  of  brief  and  clear  reports,  with  definite  recom- 
mendations to  be  settled  by  the  meeting  after  need- 
ful discussion.  General  discussions  and  digressions 
should  be  ruled  out  of  order,  unless  on  a  practical 
proposition  which  is  to  come  to  a  vote.' 

The  closing  period  of  the  conference  should  be 
given  to  general  study,  with  a  paper  by  one  of  the 
members,  or  occasionally  an  address  by  a  visiting 
speaker.  Sometimes  the  meeting  may  gather  around 
the  supper  table,  the  docket  being  taken  up  as  soon 
as  quiet  can  be  secured.  Sometimes  this  supper 
meeting   may   precede   the   church   prayer-meeting. 

'  In  the  interest  of  brisk  procedure,  it  will  be  well  to  enact 
this  by-law:  "Whenever  discussion  arises  with  no  motion 
before  the  meeting,  any  member  may  move  that  we  return 
to  the  docket ;  and  such  motion  shall  be  put  without  debate." 


THE  TEACHING  STAFF  95 

The  stated  night  of  meeting  should  be  adhered  to 
except  for  reasons  of  unusual  force. 

Where  the  superintendent  really  associates  his 
teachers  with  him  in  carrying  the  responsibilities  of 
school  administration,  by  maintaining  thus  a  real 
legislature  for  determining  jointly  the  policies  of  the 
school,  the  difficulty  of  interesting  teachers  in  the 
business  problems  of  the  school  and  getting  them  out 
to  the  workers'  conference  will  seldom  appear. 

Assignments 

1.  How  does  the  old  conception  of  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher  differ  from  the  way  in  which  we  think 
of  Sunday-school  teachers  to-day? 

2.  What  is  your  own  view  as  to  the  value  of  the 
new  plan  as  contrasted  with  the  old?  Have  we  lost 
or  gained  ?    In  what  ways  ? 

3a.  (i)  Outline  two  duties  of  the  department 
principal  in  the  children's  division.  (2)  If  the  home 
department  should  claim  jurisdiction  over  the  cradle 
roll,  how  would  you  settle  the  issue? 

3b.  Name  one  or  two  weaknesses  in  the  upper- 
school  work  of  your  church  school  that  might  be 
strengthened  if  you  had  competent  principals  for  the 
intermediate,  senior,  young  people's  and  adult  de- 
partments. 

4.  (i)  What  staff  workers  are  needed  in  the 
junior  department  of  a  city-size  church  school?  (2) 
Would  you  classify  these  workers  as  officers  or  teach- 
ers?   Why? 

5.  ( I )  What  is  the  penalty  of  a  poorly  organized 
service  of  substitute  teaching?  (2)  How  does  the 
building  up  of  a  departmental  staff  help  to  solve  the 


96     CHUECH-8CHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

substitute  problem?    (3)  How  does  your  school  now 
handle  this  problem  ? 

6a.  Why  is  upper-grade  teaching  an  exacting 
service? 

6b.  Why  then  do  busy  men  and  women  take  such 
classes  ? 

6c.  (i)  What  steps  may  be  taken  to  establish 
and  maintain  annual  promotions  in  the  upper  grades? 
(2)  What  good  results  will  follow? 

6d.  Explain  the  short-course  plan  of  handling  the 
senior  and  young  people's  departments. 

7a.  In  removing  an  undesirable  worker,  how  may 
the  issue  be  made  impersonal  ? 

7b.     What  will  be  the  best  possible  solution  ? 

7c.     How  prepare  for  the  step  to  follow  removal? 

7d.    What  shall  we  do  with  the  one  removed? 

8.  Draft  a  docket  for  the  next  meeting  of  your 
workers'  council,  with  a  topic  for  essay  and  dis- 
cussion. 


THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  AND  EXPRESSION 

1.    The  Problem  of  Lesson-Choosing. 

(a)  An  Educational  Task. — Part  of  the  work  of 
organizing  a  church  school,  as  we  saw  in  Chapter  I, 
is  to  determine  what  shall  be  the  lessons  studied  in 
the  departments  and  classes.  This  is  a  problem  for 
joint  solution  by  the  parties  concerned.  Unity  of 
administration,  however,  requires  that  the  leader, 
after  full  consultation,  shall  embody  the  wishes  and 
needs  of  these  parties  in  a  comprehensive  plan  of 
studies  for  the  whole  school. 

This  task  is  essentially  educational.  Guidance  of 
the  school  in  its  choice  of  studies  is  the  educational 
director's  most  significant  function.  Where  there  is 
no  director  of  education,  the  superintendent  must 
meet  and  consciously  settle  with  his  fellow-workers 
the  problem  of  what  lessons  his  school  is  to  study,  or 
confess  that  the  school  is  running  without  educational 
direction.  To  let  the  secretary,  without  instructions, 
order  the  lesson  supplies  as  a  piece  of  mere  business 
routine  is  to  make  such  a  confession. 

(b)  Lessons  for  Adult  Convenience. — For  forty 
years,  as  we  have  seen,'  the  great  majority  of  Ameri- 
can Sunday  schools  placed  this  problem  unreservedly 
in  the  hands  of  the  International  Lesson  Committee. 

'  Chapters  I,  7 ;  III,  2. 
97 


98      CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

It  was  a  great  convenience  to  be  thus  relieved.  The 
school  did  indeed  choose  vi^hat  publisher's  helps  they 
would  use  and  how  far  they  would  provide  their  di- 
visions and  departments  with  graded  adaptations  of 
the  uniform  Bible  lesson  selection.  Here  and  there, 
also,  they  found  room  for  supplemental  lesson  mate- 
rial. But  over  the  choice  of  regular  lesson  ma- 
terial they  exercised  no  control. 

Unused  for  so  long,  the  function  of  lesson  choosing 
atrophied  in  the  average  Sunday  school's  organism. 
Many  superintendents  do  not  yet  comprehend  its  im- 
portance, or  the  principles  embodied  in  its  proper 
exercise. 

The  uniform  lessons  have  been  popular  largely  be- 
cause they  minister  to  adult  convenience.  Not  only 
superintendents  but  pastors,  teachers,  adult  Bible  stu- 
dents, parents  of  several  children,  traveling  men, 
readers  of  religious  and  secular  papers,  managers  of 
conventions  and  union  religious  meetings,  lesson-help 
publishers, — the  gain  to  these  from  the  policy  of  hav- 
ing one  Bible  lesson  for  all  schools  and  all  classes 
was  and  is  incontestable.  If  lessons  are  to  be  chosen 
for  the  convenience  of  those  who  handle  and  teach 
them,  uniformity  has  a  strong  case. 

(c)  Lessons  for  Pupils'  Needs. — But  in  education 
the  teacher's  convenience  yields  place  to  the  pupil's 
need.  This  is  indeed  a  fundamental  law  of  God's 
kingdom.  Whether  the  alternative  be  the  divinely 
instituted  Sabbath,  or  the  gift  dedicated  to  the  altar^ 
or  merely  the  convenience  of  some  servant  of  the 
kingdom,  institutions  and  dignitaries  come  second, 
while  human  need  comes  first.    To  deny  that  prin- 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  99 

ciple  or  obstruct  its  free  operation  is  to  challenge  the 
authority  and  the  wisdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  therefore  our  duty  to  choose  for  our  school 
not  the  lessons  that  will  be  most  convenient  for  us, 
but  those  that  give  greatest  promise  of  meeting  the 
spiritual  needs  of  our  children  and  youth.  To  per- 
form this  duty  we  must  learn  what  our  children's 
needs  are.  "  The  need  of  the  child  is  the  law  of  the 
school."  In  a  humbly  scientific  spirit,  divesting  our- 
selves of  dogma  and  pretense,  let  us  study  our  chil- 
dren, marking  their  unforced  responses  to  what  we 
have  heretofore  presented,  noting  failure  as  well  as 
success,  and  drawing  on  the  stores  of  observation 
gained  by  the  thousands  of  patient  workers  who  have 
gone  this  way  before. 

Candidly  so  studying,  we  shall  soon  see : 

( 1 )  Whatever  these  children  do  need,  it  is  certain 
that  they  do  not  all  need  the  same  lessons.  Uni- 
formity of  lesson  material  means  sacrifice  of  graded 
adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  several  ages.  Each 
course  must  be  entirely  independent  of  every  other 
course,  or  it  cannot  be  chosen  to  fit  need. 

(2)  Adapted  sequence  of  successive  lessons  is  as 
vital  as  adapted  choice  of  material  for  the  lessons  one 
by  one.  The  pupil's  mind  and  life  advance  by  suc- 
cessive steps.  The  material  on  which  our  lessons 
for  each  of  these  steps  are  based  must  be  related  in 
the  plane  of  the  child's  life  and  growth.  He  has 
needs  for  this  quarter  as  well  as  for  next  Sunday. 
When,  therefore,  the  "  improved  uniform  lessons  " 
aim  "  to  provide  for  teachers  in  every  department  a 
thoroughly  teachable  lesson,"  the  aim  falls  short  of 
the  need.  The  quarter's  lessons  are  chosen  on  a 
plane  of  adult  Scriptural  sequence.     From  ao.y  (mt 


100    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

of  these  weekly  lessons  a  "  thoroughly  teachable " 
primary  lesson  might  conceivably  be  drawn.  But  by 
no  human  power  can  thirteen  consecutive  lessons  be 
so  drawn  and  the  quarterly  course  thus  formed  be  a 
well-adapted  course  for  little  children.  To  call  such 
lessons  graded  lessons  is  an  utter  misnomer. 

(3)  For  any  age  of  childhood  or  youth,  to  deter- 
mine what  are  the  average  religious  needs  of  Ameri- 
can pupils,  and  to  arrange  a  course  of  studies  to  fit 
those  needs,  is  an  educational  task  of  great  complex- 
ity. No  one  solution  can  be  thought  of  as  final.  It 
may  well  be  attempted  by  various  groups,  and  by  the 
same  group  again  and  again. 

(d)  Establishing  the  Dominant  Principle. — In 
choosing  printed  lessons  for  the  individual  school,  as 
in  framing  the  course  before  publication,  the  issue 
must  be  met  and  settled  as  to  whether  the  need  of  the 
pupil  is  to  be  the  dominant  or  only  the  secondary 
consideration. 

No  man  can  serve  two  masters,  or  observe  two 
dominant  principles  at  the  same  time.  One  must 
lead  and  the  other  follow.  Uniform  lessons  may  be 
(and  usually  are)  graded  as  far  as  possible  under  the 
dominant  principle  of  uniformity.  Graded  lessons 
may  be  approximated  to  each  other,  by  ingenious  ar- 
rangement of  topics,  use  of  seasonal  lessons  at  Christ- 
mas, etc.,  so  as  to  get  as  much  uniformity  as  is  pos- 
sible under  the  principle  that  every  course  is  chosen 
first  of  all  to  meet  the  needs  of  children  of  a  particu- 
lar age  or  type.  But  in  every  imaginable  case  the 
lessons  are  dominated  by  one  principle  or  the  other. 
If  uniformity  dominates,  they  are  not  graded.  If 
adaptation  dominates,  the^  are  not  uniform.  "Graded 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  101 

uniform  lessons,"  therefore,  are  an  impossibility,  be- 
cause the  two  terms  contradict  each  other. 

Not  less  hopeless  is  the  effort,  frequently  made,  to 
maintain  the  dominance  of  adaptation  to  need  while 
exalting  some  other  principle  in  the  selection  of  mate- 
rial. Some  lesson-makers,  genuinely  anxious  to  meet 
the  pupil-need  in  every  age,  are  nevertheless  deter- 
mined to  emphasize  in  every  grade  a  certain  set  of 
doctrines.  Others  are  equally  concerned  to  magnify 
the  ritual  and  symbolism  and  nomenclature  of  their 
church.  Others,  again,  are  devoted  to  missions  or 
some  other  sacred  cause.  But  need  is  a  jealous  mis- 
tress. If  the  child  is  to  come  first,  not  only  must 
dogma  and  rite  and  cause  come  second,  but  we  must 
cease  to  give  this  predilection  of  ours  any  considera- 
tion whatever  until  the  child's  need  has  been  fully 
sei'ved.  Then,  indeed,  we  may  supplement  our  work 
with  what  we  count  important ;  and  it  may  be  that  it 
will  be  made  richer  and  better  thereby. 

If  the  leader  has  settled  in  his  mind  that  his 
school's  outfit  of  lesson  helps  must  serve  the  needs 
of  his  pupils  first  of  all,  it  will  not  be  hard  to  deter- 
mine as  to  the  samples  of  any  recommended  series 
whether  or  not  in  the  making  of  these  lessons  this  has 
been  the  dominating  principle. 

2.    Essentials  of  a  Course  of  Study. 

(a)  A  Tool  for  Character-Making. — For  every 
school  there  must  be  a  course  of  study.  We  go  to 
school  to  learn,  that  we  may  know,  feel,  do  and  be 
that  which,  without  such  learning,  would  be  beyond 
us.    Material,  therefore,  must  be  so  chosen,  arranged 


102    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIKISTEATION 

and  used  that  what  goes  in  as  learning  shall  come  out 
as  life.  Our  curriculum  is  to  control  conduct,  im- 
part culture  and  fix  character.  These  are  the  highest 
human  values  known  to  man ;  and  the  curriculimi  of 
the  school  is  the  instrument  with  which  the  workmen 
are  to  shape  them.  Why  should  we  be  surprised  to 
find  the  instrument  complex  and  the  task  of  making 
it  a  baffling  problem  ? 

Proposals  for  an  easy  solution  of  the  problem  will 
be  many.  But  the  only  way  to  make  this  problem 
easy  is  to  dodge  the  difficulties  of  which  it  is  com- 
posed. The  uniform  lesson  system  did  this  monu- 
mentally. Various  plans  of  partial  uniformity  have 
sought  the  same  end  in  lesser  degree.  They  do  not 
solve  the  problem.     No  course,  no  school. 

(b)  A  Course,  Not  a  Field. — Traversing  a  field 
and  pursuing  a  course  are  two  different  things.  By 
the  uniform  lesson  method  all  departments  traverse 
together  the  great  field  of  the  Bible  in  an  eight-year 
cycle  and  then  begin  again  on  a  fresh  cycle,  newly 
planned.  This  is  not  the  method  of  a  school;  and 
lessons  so  planned  do  not  constitute  a  course  of 
study. 

(r)  Features  of  a  School  Course. — In  any  mod- 
ern school  system  covering  all  ages,  the  course  will 
naturally  embody  these  features : 

( 1 )  It  will  be  divided  into  convenient  units,  each 
of  which  is  adapted  to  the  average  needs  of  a  par- 
ticular age  or  type.     The  usual  unit  is  one  year. 

(2)  It  will  therefore  be  fixed,  remaining  the  same 
from  year  to  year,  except  as  improved  in  the  light  of 
experience.     Each    successive   set   of   pupils,    as   it 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  103 

travels  up  the  course,  will  receive  in  each  year  the 
studies  provided  for  that  year. 

(3)  The  studies  of  each  year  will  presuppose 
mastery  of  those  that  have  gone  before  and  will  lay 
the  foundation  for  those  that  are  to  come  after. 

(4)  There  will,  therefore,  be  a  logical  order  of 
studies,  which  cannot  be  disarranged  without  confu- 
sion and  educational  loss. 

(5)  There  will  be  as  many  distinct  year-courses 
as  there  are  years  in  the  pupil's  school  life.  If  he 
enters  at  four  and  leaves  at  twenty,  seventeen  yearly 
courses  will  be  needed  to  keep  every  class  supplied 
with  a  fresh  course  each  year. 

(6)  The  older  the  class,  the  greater  the  need  for 
freedom  of  choice  in  studies.  Pupils  and  classes 
averaging  eighteen  and  older  will  be  made  responsible 
for  electing  their  own  studies;  and  a  range  of  such 
studies  will  be  provided  for  their  use. 

3.     A  Church-School  Study  Course. 

In  addition  to  these  necessary  characteristics,  ex- 
emplified in  our  American  system  of  general  educa- 
tion, a  course  of  studies  for  use  in  American  church 
schools  must  embody  some  additional  features,  corre- 
sponding to  its  special  aims  and  to  the  conditions 
under  which  it  is  to  be  used. 

(a)  A  Course  in  Religion. — The  general  Ameri- 
can school  course  may  contain  lessons  on  anything 
and  everything  except  religion.  Whatever  ap- 
proaches that  forbidden  field  must  be  denatured  of 
the  religious  element  before  being  used.  Morals  may 
be  taught, — on  a  utilitarian  basis,  as  the  greatest  good 
to  the  greatest  number.  The  Bible  may  come  in, — as 
literature  or  good  morals  or  inspiring  biography; 
never  as  the  basis  of  faith  or  the  message  of  salva- 


104    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

tion.  History,  geography,  literature  and  language 
may  bring  many  contacts  with  the  various  religions 
of  mankind,  including  our  own ;  but  the  school's  atti- 
tude toward  all  must  be  negative  and  impartial.  To 
supply  the  deep  human  need  for  religious  feeling  as 
a  motive  for  action  and  a  unifier  of  personal  and 
social  life,  patriotism  is  invoked,  like  the  emperor- 
worship  of  ancient  Rome.  That  came  in  to  fill  the 
void  left  by  the  death  of  the  old  faiths ;  this  comes  to 
meet  the  conditions  imposed  on  our  schools  by  the 
American  Constitution. 

It  is  idle  to  quarrel  with  this  condition.  It  marks 
a  necessary  stage  in  our  national  growth.  The  arti- 
ficiality of  it  is  constantly  and  happily  exemplified  in 
the  real  religious  teaching  that  many  a  devoted  school 
teacher  finds  ways  of  imparting,  as  she  meets  some 
soul-need  that  only  religion  can  fill.  In  many  com- 
munities, also,  common  consent  sanctions  the  inclu- 
sion of  a  certain  amount  of  worship  and  religious 
teaching  in  the  work  of  the  public  school.  These  ex- 
ceptions merely  emphasize  the  American  rule. 

Over  against  mathematics,  literature,  science,  art 
and  vocational  studies,  therefore,  stands  religion,  as 
the  one  great  body  of  subject-matter  to  be  presented 
in  the  curriculum  of  the  church  school.  Whoever 
counts  religion  an  important  element  in  life  will  do 
what  in  him  lies  to  make  every  church  school  an 
effective  teacher  of  religion ;  for  if  that  fails,  Amer- 
ica can  count  on  no  other  agency  to  save  her  from 
control  in  a  few  years  by  the  votes  and  the  leadership 
of  a  religiously  illiterate  generation. 

(b)     A     Course     Given     Under    Difficulties. — la 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  105 

framing  a  course  for  use  by  church  schools,  the 
limitations  under  which  they  ordinarily  run  must  be 
allowed  for : 

( 1 )  The  class  in  religion  has  but  one  recitation  a 
week. 

(2)  The  teacher  is  one  who  does  something  else 
for  a  living  and  gives  to  this  service  only  marginal 
time.  No  amount  of  conscientiousness  and  good-will 
can  wipe  out  the  distinction  between  professional  and 
amateur.     Teaching  is  a  profession. 

(3)  An  increasing,  but  still  a  low  proportion  of 
these  teachers  have  had  either  mental  furnishing  for 
their  general  task  of  Bible  teaching  or  training  for 
the  work  of  their  respective  departments. 

(4)  The  superintendence  under  which  these 
teachers  work  is  with  occasional  exceptions  as  unpro- 
fessional and  untrained  as  the  average  of  the  force 
superintended. 

(5)  The  housing  and  equipment  is  ordinarily  far 
below  present  standards  of  educational  efficiency. 

(6)  A  large  proportion  of  church  schools  are 
small  in  numbers  and  hence  unable  to  carry  out  the 
standard  plans  of  exact  yearly  gradation.  They  can, 
however,  modify  these  plans  to  fit  their  needs  and 
adapt  standard  courses  to  their  small-school  condi- 
tions. Course  material  directly  adapted  to  these 
needs  should  be  provided  for  their  special  use. 

(c)  Correlations. — Offsetting  the  absurdly  inade- 
quate recitation  allowance  of  one  a  week  (when  every 
major  school  study  in  primary  and  grammar  grades 
has  five),  the  church  ordinarily  provides  various 
other  meetings  of  religious-educational  value.  Such 
are  the  pulpit  services,  the  young  people's  meeting, 
the  guild,  band,  league  or  troop  meeting  for  worship^ 


106    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

fellowship,  study,  recreation  or  service.  Most  grow- 
ing boys  or  girls  belong  to  some  one  of  these  organi- 
zations and  so  have,  in  addition  to  their  church-school 
hour,  another  hour  of  more  or  less  value  for  educa- 
tion in  religion. 

Not  one  of  these  except  the  pulpit  service  pretends 
to  cover  all  the  growing  ages.  Each  represents  a 
certain  period  in  life.  The  more  closely  this  is  de™ 
fined,  and  the  more  firmly  the  accepted  age-limits  are 
enforced,  the  better  is  the  organization's  chance  of 
success  and  permanence,  A  young  people's  society 
whose  membership  takes  in  juniors  and  intermediates 
below  and  retains  in  active  relations  mature  Chris- 
tians above  is  not  likely  to  do  much  for  the  religious 
education  of  the  real  young  people  of  the  congrega- 
tion. 

The  church  school,  representing  as  it  does  all  ages, 
and  having  for  these  ages  a  definite  course  of  study, 
may  rightly  consider  itself  the  vertebral  structure 
with  which  each  of  these  organizations  is  to  be  corre- 
lated, in  order  to  the  successful  inclusion  of  all  in  a 
unified  parish  system  of  religious  education  for  each 
pupil.  The  superintendent  may,  and  the  director 
must,  take  the  lead  in  this  difficult  and  diplomatic 
work.     Steps  in  correlation  will  include : 

(i)  Adoption  by  each  organization  of  the  age- 
limit  principle. 

(2)  Adjustment  of  these  age-limits  to  those  of 
the  standard  departments  of  the  church  school. 

(3)  Unification  of  management  and  control  for 
all  the  church's  work  for  the  children  and  youth  of 
each  separate  period. 


STUDY  AND  EXPRESSION  107 

(4)  Through  this  unified  management,  unification 
of  studies,  activities  and  worship,  so  that  all  the  Sun- 
day and  week-day  work  of  the  pupil  shall  be  part  of 
a  common  educational  plan. 

(5)  Removal  of  whatever  overlaps  and  repeats. 

(6)  Provision  for  those  types  of  pupil  who  have 
not  heretofore  been  drawn  into  the  auxiliary  activi- 
ties for  children  of  their  age. 

(7)  Completion  of  whatever  is  lacking  in  the 
series  of  auxiliary  agencies. 

(8)  Re-study  of  the  whole  curriculum  as  in- 
stalled, to  make  it,  as  far  as  it  goes,  an  educational 
unity. 

(d)  Expectations. — With  the  incoming  of  the 
practice  of  establishing  Protestant  schools  for  week- 
day religious  instruction,  in  vacation  time  or  through- 
out the  school  year,  the  limitations  of  our  present 
church-school  system  may  be  met  and  fully  over- 
come. A  system  of  religious  schools  paralleling  the 
system  of  public  education  will  give  to  religion  the 
educational  emphasis  that  is  its  due. 

Such  a  development  will,  of  course,  imply  great 
changes  in  the  plans  of  the  church  school,  especially 
as  to  its  curriculum.  Relieved  of  its  responsibility 
for  information-teaching  and  drill- work,  and  with 
pupils  trained  in  Bible  language,  religious  music  and 
missionary  lore,  the  church  school  can  make  its  ses- 
sion a  time  of  devout  worship,  intimate  instruction  in 
religion  and  Christian  ethics,  training  for  church 
service  and  the  inculcation  of  denominational  ideals. 

4.    Lesson  Aims. 

Every  course  of  study  was  planned  to  accomplish 


108    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIlflSTEATION 

some  result.  It  therefore  has  an  aim.  No  one  can 
successfully  teach  or  administer  a  course  who  does 
not  both  comprehend  and  share  the  aim  that  is  em- 
bodied in  the  topics  and  selections. 

(a)  Logical  and  Psychologic  Aims. — All  lesson 
aims  are  either  logical  or  psychologic;  that  is,  they 
have  to  do  either  with  the  matter  or  with  the  pupil. 
If  our  interest  in  the  thing  taught  is  greater  than  our 
interest  in  the  person  taught,  our  aim  in  lesson-choos- 
ing will  be  logical, — relating  to  words.  If  we  care 
for  the  person  more  than  for  the  matter,  our  aim  will 
be  psychologic, — relating  to  soul.  Again  the  alterna- 
tive is  absolute.  Most  teachers  care  for  both  matter 
and  soul ;  but  the  way  they  teach  soon  shows  which  is 
to  them  the  dominating  factor. 

Nearly  all  education,  up  to  a  comparatively  recent 
time,  has  had  a  logical  aim.  Studies  have  been  as- 
signed because  they  were  judged  to  be  of  intrinsic 
importance.  The  most  precious  verses  in  the  Bible 
for  the  Jew  were  the  "  Hear,  O  Israel  "  of  Deuteron- 
omy; hence  they  were  assigned  for  the  Jewish  child 
to  memorize.  Whether  or  not  they  met  his  needs 
was  a  secondary  consideration.  They  were  good 
words  to  learn. 

"  The  new  education,"  as  it  is  frequently  called, 
follows  the  psychologic  aim.  It  denies  that  matter 
has  any  intrinsic  teaching  value  whatever.  Its  sole 
value,  in  this  view,  is  in  relation  to  the  need  of  him 
who  learns  it.  If  the  words  in  which  it  is  expressed 
are  not  understood  by  the  learner,  it  is  not  teaching 
matter  at  all.  All  modern  educational  science  is 
based  on  this  view. 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  109 

When,  therefore,  we  plan  a  course  designed  to 
cover  the  whole  Bible  in  a  given  number  of  years,  we 
have  a  logical  aim ;  because  our  choice  is  based  on  our 
judgment  of  the  value  of  the  Bible.  In  this  judg- 
ment we  are  not  mistaken.  The  new  education  does 
not  require  us  to  alter  by  a  jot  our  estimate  of  Bible 
values.  But  it  does  require  us  to  keep  free  from 
dogmatic  presuppositions  as  to  what  must  be  best  for 
the  child  to  study,  that  in  all  our  lesson  choices  we 
may  be  guided  by  his  needs  alone. 

(b)  Aims  of  the  Graded  Lessons. — In  a  properly 
constructed  graded  lesson  course  covering  one  year 
the  aim  is  primarily  psychologic, — to  furnish  for  that 
specified  year  of  the  average  pupil's  life  the  lesson 
material  it  most  needs.  Adjustment  must  also  be 
had  to  the  aims  of  other  years,  that  the  material  of  all 
the  years  may  hang  logically  together.  The  whole 
series  will  then  have  a  general  aim,  to  the  meeting  of 
which  every  course  will  contribute  its  share. 

The  original  use  of  the  aim,  whether  for  the  single 
lesson,  the  quarter,  the  year,  the  group  of  years  or  the 
series,  is  to  guide  in  the  wise  selection  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  lesson  material  and  the  wording  of  the 
topics.  The  International  Graded  Lessons  were 
drafted  by  a  company  of  practical  Sunday-school 
workers,  including  several  specialists  of  note.  They 
first  agreed  on  what  the  children  or  youth  of  a  given 
age  need  at  that  stage  of  their  religious  education. 
Next  they  considered  the  bodies  of  material  that 
seemed  to  promise,  if  properly  presented,  a  meeting 
of  such  needs.  They  then  formulated  the  aims  of 
tiie  year's  course.     The  lessons  were  then  chosen  to 


110    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

fit  these  aims,  and  the  course  when  complete  was 
criticized,  recast  and  perfected  in  the  hght  of  its  aim, 
with  experiments  in  actual  classes  to  determine  how 
far  both  aim  and  lessons  were  effective  for  results. 

Inasmuch,  however,  as  these  course-outlines  were 
afterwards  revised  from  the  logical  viewpoint,  first 
by  the  Lesson  Committee  for  whose  use  they  were 
made,  then  by  the  denominational  editors  and  com- 
mittees and  then  by  the  lesson  writers,  the  faithful- 
ness of  the  original  lesson-makers  to  their  stated  aims 
does  not  always  appear.  The  International  Graded 
Lessons  as  printed  show  in  many  places  a  compro- 
mise between  two  ideals.  The  substitute  material  in- 
troduced by  authority,  sometimes  displacing  a  whole 
quarter  or  half-year  of  the  original  outline,  and  in 
many  cases  changing  the  topic  and  emphasis  of  the 
individual  lesson,  cannot  be  called  a  sincerely  psycho- 
logic effort  to  compass  the  avowed  yearly  aim.  But 
taking  the  series  as  a  whole,  the  published  courses, 
especially  those  which  have  followed  closely  the  In- 
ternational outline,  do  substantially  embody  the  aims 
they  profess. 

In  the  other  graded  lesson  courses  listed  in  Ap- 
pendix B,  the  same  effort  to  formulate  and  then 
follow  an  aim  may  be  seen.  The  independent  courses 
claim  to  be  free  from  the  need  of  trimming  the  uni- 
versal psychologic  aim  to  fit  the  dogmatic  require- 
ments of  many  denominations  and  types  of  thought. 
The  courses  prepared  for  and  by  particular  churches 
for  their  own  schools  show  decided  logical  leanings  in 
the  direction  of  the  bodies  of  material  they  feel  the 
need  of  imparting.    All  modern  courses,  however^  i» 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  111 

comparison  with  their  own  predecessors,  show  prog- 
ress in  the  direction  of  the  pure  psychologic  ideal. 

(c)  Administrative  Use  of  the  Aim. — To  the 
church-school  administrator  the  several  aims  of  the 
courses  studied  in  his  school  are  guides  indicating 
what  results  are  to  be  looked  for  in  the  pupils  and 
classes.  Though  stated  broadly,  any  one  who  knows 
and  understands  children  can  translate  their  general 
terms  into  the  every-day  life  of  the  boys  and  girls  of 
his  field  and  can  ask,  as  to  each  age  in  turn.  Are  these 
aims  being  realized  as  our  pupils  study  and  practice 
this  course?  If  not,  at  what  point  do  our  efforts  fail, 
and  by  what  steps  can  they  be  made  more  resultful? 
As  the  conductor  of  the  orchestra  studies  not  only  the 
scores  of  his  several  sets  of  players  but  the  marks  of 
expression  by  which  the  composer  indicated  his  plan 
as  to  the  interpretation  of  his  composition,  so  must 
the  church-school  leader  study  not  merely  the  topics 
and  passages  assigned  for  study  in  the  different 
grades  but  also  the  spiritual  aims  which  are  to  be 
realized  if  the  studying  is  to  be  successful. 


5.    The  Course  of  Expression. 

Not  more  than  half  of  the  school's  lesson  problem 
has  been  solved  when  a  satisfactory  series  of  graded 
studies  has  been  selected  and  introduced.  With  all 
its  difficulties,  too,  this  is  the  easy  half.  Far  more 
complex  and  unexplored  is  the  problem  of  giving  to 
every  pupil,  along  the  line  of  his  studies  and  in  accord 
with  his  developing  capacities,  an  outlet  of  religious 
expression. 


112    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

No  lesson  is  learned  until  it  has  come  out  as  well 
as  gone  in.  It  is  that  which  comes  out  of  the  man 
that  defiles  or  ennobles  him.  We  learn  something. 
The  knowledge  fires  us  to  feeling ;  and  feeling  moves 
us  to  action.  Yesterday  it  was  a  lesson  in  a  book. 
This  morning  it  was  a  teaching  that  stirred  our 
hearts.  To-night  it  is  a  deed  well  done.  We  can 
never  be  the  same  again.  The  lesson  has  helped  to 
shape  our  character,  because  by  an  act  of  voluntary 
expression  we  have  made  it  a  piece  of  our  life. 
Nothing  that  does  not  complete  this  round  should  be 
called  teaching. 

(o)  Worship. — In  the  teaching  of  religion  the 
simplest  and  most  universal  act  of  expression  is  wor- 
ship, the  recognition  of  the  presence  and  power  of 
God.  If  our  lessons  in  every  grade  are  essentially 
lessons  in  religion,  they  will  lead  naturally  to  expres- 
sion, individually  and  in  groups,  in  acts  of  conscious 
approach  to  God.  Prayer,  gifts,  the  daily  reading 
of  God's  message  to  mankind,  attendance  on  the  serv- 
ices of  the  church,  service  to  others  in  His  name,  may 
be  idle  forms  or  reflex  impulses;  or  they  may  be 
made  by  good  teaching  the  true  and  hearty  expression 
of  reverence,  faith,  gratitude,  penitence  and  aspira- 
tion. 

The  worship  service  of  the  church  school,  there- 
fore, or  of  any  of  its  departmental  assemblies,  is  a 
vital  part  of  its  course  of  instruction.  So  also  is  that 
training  of  the  devotional  life  which  should  be  the 
concern  of  each  teacher  and  parent.  By  establishing 
in  the  pupil  habits  of  private  and  public  worship  we 
have  not  made  him  religious;  but  we  have  provided 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  113 

an  outlet  for  the  normal  expression  of  the  religion 
that  has  been  and  is  to  be  taught  in  our  lesson  series. 

{b)  Expressive  Activities. — The  dramatic  impulse 
is  strong  in  little  children.  Whenever  an  experience 
has  been  set  before  their  imagination  through  a  song, 
a  story,  a  picture  or  the  example  of  their  elders,  they 
seek  to  live  it  out  in  play.  The  creative  impulse  like- 
wise moves  them  to  draw,  colour  or  embellish  pic- 
tures, or  to  model,  cut  or  construct  something  that 
shall  carry  on  the  thought  and  embody  the  ideal  set 
before  them  in  the  lesson  story.  By  adding  to  our 
teaching  plan  some  such  activity  to  draw  out  the  chil- 
dren's minds  and  muscles  we  help  them,  so  far,  to 
live  their  lesson  and  make  it  their  own.  Hence  the 
play  lessons  of  the  beginners'  department  and  the  va- 
rious forms  of  handwork  in  the  graded  primary  and 
junior  courses.  In  themselves  these  activities  mean 
nothing  for  religious  teaching ;  and  they  can  easily  be 
mishandled  and  overdone.  But  as  means  for  com- 
pleting our  lessons  in  religion  they  have  the  highest 
spiritual  value. 

Year  by  year,  as  the  children  grow,  the  expressive 
handwork  must  be  made  not  only  more  difficult  but 
more  logically  related  to  the  lesson  it  is  designed  to 
express.  The  map  or  plan  must  be  needed  to  eluci- 
date the  text.  Instead  of  a  picture  we  may  have  a 
list  of  names  or  a  diagram,  or  perhaps  a  story  worked 
out  and  illustrated  by  the  class,  each  pupil  making  his 
share.  As  adolescence  approaches,  altruism  must 
enter.  A  class  that  would  not  care  to  finish  an  illu- 
minated hymn  or  a  "  Life  of  David  "  for  itself,  or 
even  for  the  school's  Christmas  exhibition,  might  do 


114    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINI8TEATION 

so  eagerly  if  the  books  when  finished  were  to  amuse 
the  sick  children  at  the  hospital  or  be  packed  in  the 
box  for  the  missionary.  Even  with  these  induce- 
ments, however,  interest  in  handwork  and  its  value  as 
expressive  activity  is  with  difficulty  carried  beyond 
the  junior  years. 

(c)  Expressive  Conduct. — More  difficult  but  of 
far  deeper  significance  is  the  task  of  securing  lesson 
expression  in  the  pupil's  daily  life.  The  traditional 
Sunday-school  lesson  has  always  had  its  moralizing 
"application."  But  (i)  the  successive  applications 
have  had  no  sequence,  so  that  one  might  follow  up 
another;  (2)  they  have  seldom  been  specific?;  (3)  the 
conduct  encouraged  has  been  but  slightly  related  to 
the  narrative  of  the  lesson,  if  the  lesson  has  had  any 
narrative;  (4)  circumstances  to  call  for  such  conduct 
may  not  present  themselves  until  long  after  the  im- 
pression has  passed  away;  (5)  emotion  is  not  evoked 
to  stir  and  sustain  the  will ;  (6)  the  reinforcement  of 
group  action  is  seldom  called  into  play;  (7)  slight  at- 
tempt has  been  made  to  follow  up  the  suggested  ap- 
plication by  questioning,  drill  or  encouragement  to 
continued  endeavour.  We  have  not  taken  our  appli- 
cations seriously. 

Reversing  these  neglects,  and  planning  our  pupils' 
responses  in  conduct  in  the  same  way  that  we  would 
plan  handwork  or  pageantry,  we  may  sometimes  se- 
cure obedience,  kindness,  fair  play,  or  whatever  vir- 
tue the  lesson  exemplifies,  with  as  definite  a  success 
as  in  the  simpler  and  more  material  realm. 

As  this  is  a  matter  to  be  handled  by  each  teacher 
with  his  class  in  his  own  way,  the  principal  or  super- 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  115 

intendent  can  seldom  do  more  than  to  bring  up  in 
conference  and  personal  discussion  the  need  of  secur- 
ing control  of  conduct  as  the  outcome  of  lesson  im- 
pressions. A  teacher  who  thus  seems  to  be  succeed- 
ing in  realizing  the  lesson  aims  for  the  year  should 
report  the  work,  with  illustrations,  in  the  monthly 
workers'  conference. 

(d)  Evangelism. — As  the  highest  and  most  fun- 
damental result  of  our  teaching  is  the  winning  of  our 
pupils  to  personal  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
acceptance  of  Him  as  Saviour,  so  the  most  significant 
expressive  conduct  on  their  part  will  be  the  voluntary 
act  of  public  confession.  How  and  under  what  con- 
ditions this  is  to  be  registered  is  determined  by  the 
usages  of  the  various  religious  bodies.  Whether  or 
not  the  school  shall  observe  a  "  Decision  Day,"  or, 
far  better,  a  day  for  the  declaration  of  decisions 
quietly  and  personally  made,  it  is  surely  wise  to  lead 
the  school  in  its  worship  and  in  the  counsels  of  its 
teaching  body  to  an  attitude  of  deepened  spiritual 
earnestness  and  realization  of  the  claims  of  Christ  on 
our  life's  fullest  devotion.  Advantage  may  also  be 
taken  of  seasons  favourable  to  decision ;  and  the  hesi- 
tancy of  adolescence  to  make  itself  conspicuous  may 
be  met  by  seeking  for  mass  action  by  classes  and 
groups,  provided  the  individuality  of  each  confession 
is  duly  assured. 

Educationally,  it  is  essential  that  the  act  of  confes- 
sion shall  be : 

(i)  Voluntary  and  free,  and  as  far  as  possible 
spontaneous. 


116    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIOTSTEATIOl^ 

(2)  Intelligent,  according  to  the  pupil's  years  and 
mental  capacity. 

(3)  Rational,  an  outgrowth  of  lessons  and  ex- 
pressive conduct  leading  in  that  direction. 

(4)  Emotional,  springing  from  a  heart  touched 
with  love,  gratitude  and  devotion. 

(5)  Practical,  in  relation  to  a  definite  course  of 
conduct  embodying  loyalty  to  Christ  and  the  church. 

In  the  case  of  pupils  in  middle  and  later  adoles- 
cence (from  fifteen  onward),  and  in  earlier  cases 
where  possible,  the  confession  should  also  be  clearly 

(6)  Final,  a  life-decision  consciously  so  made, 
and  sealed  with  acceptance  of  the  sacramental  vow. 

In  a  church  whose  society,  group  and  class  activi- 
ties have  been  even  approximately  correlated,  the 
newly  avowed  Christians  can  easily  find  fields  for  ex- 
ercise, expression  and  service.  The  organized  class 
activities,  being  under  the  supervision  of  the  class 
teacher,  are  well  fitted  to  play  this  essential  part  in 
the  church's  evangelistic  program.  In  addition  to 
all  class,  departmental  and  school  instruction,  the 
pastor's  catechetical  class,  either  before  or  after  bap- 
tism or  confirmation,  is  a  wholesome  influence  and 
should  wherever  possible  form  part  of  the  plan. 

6.     Educational  Projects. 

If  the  church  school  is  to  build  character  and  im- 
part religious  experience,  its  studies  and  its  activities 
must  be  correlated  far  more  closely  than  they  are 
usually  correlated  now.  There  are  two  ways,  and 
only  two,  for  securing  this  correlation.  One  is  by 
the  method  of  expressive  activity  just  described.  We 
first  plan  lessons  and  then  plan  activities  to  flow  from 


STUDY  AND  EXPRESSION  117 

them.  This  plan,  as  we  have  seen,  is  only  partially 
successful.  The  activities  of  the  societies,  clubs  and 
bands  it  does  not  touch  at  all. 

The  other  method  works  in  the  opposite  direction. 
It  begins  with  the  activities  and  plans  for  lessons  to  fit 
the  needs  thus  brought  to  light.  It  starts  with  a  proj- 
ect, real  or  imaginary,  on  which  teacher  and  class 
joyously  embark  together.  By  skillful  leading  the 
class  soon  discovers  its  ignorance  and  inability  to  pro- 
ceed; so  it  betakes  itself  to  study,  masters  the  diffi- 
culty, starts  afresh  with  a  broader  view,  and  soon 
encounters  another  problem  larger  than  before.  So 
proceeding,  the  year's  end  finds  the  class  with  the 
project  carried  out,  a  large  body  of  information  se- 
cured and  well  organized  in  the  brain,  interest  in 
studies  and  class  life  broadened  and  strengthened, 
and  character  shaped  through  experiences  encoun- 
tered on  the  way. 

No  religious  lessons  in  project  form  have  yet  been 
issued ;  and  it  is  hard  to  see  how  any  standard  course 
could  be  drafted  on  this  principle,  so  essential  is  it 
that  the  project  shall  fit  the  concrete  situation  of 
teacher  and  class  in  the  community,  as  well  as  aver- 
age spiritual  needs.  For  the  present,  project-teach- 
ing in  the  church  school  is  a  fascinating  possibility, 
with  promise  of  unusual  results  for  religious  culture 
when  we  are  able  to  meet  its  pedagogic  requirements. 
A  competent  teacher,  familiar  with  project  methods 
in  general  education,  might  well  be  given  freedom  for 
a  year  from  all  lesson  restrictions  and  encouraged 
thus  to  do  pioneer  work  for  the  pupils,  the  school  and 
the  profession. 


118    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

7.     Building  the  Curriculum. 

(a)  Introduction  of  Graded  Studies. — No  pub- 
lished lesson  course  of  graded  studies  comes  to  the 
church  school  ready-made.  It  consists  of  standard 
units  which  must  be  selected,  adjusted  to  the  local 
situation  and  introduced  step  by  step  as  the  way  is 
made  ready.  Intelligent  educational  leadership  is  in- 
dispensable. Schools  that  "  introduce  the  graded  les- 
sons "  as  if  they  were  simply  a  rival  set  of  uniform- 
lesson  quarterlies  generally  throw  them  out  in  disgust 
six  months  later.  So  would  one  deal  with  his  new 
automobile,  if  it  were  "  introduced  "  in  any  such  way. 

In  changing  from  uniform  lessons  to  the  graded 
lesson  system,  the  following  considerations  should  be 
kept  in  mind: 

( 1 )  Introduction  should  be  from  below.  The  be- 
ginners' class  is  presumably  using  graded  stories  al- 
ready, as  the  present  Lesson  Committee  enjoins. 
First  in  the  primary  department,  then  among  the  ju- 
niors, let  the  lessons  come  in;  each  departmental  in- 
troduction being  handled  as  a  separate  enterprise. 
When  success  so  far  is  in  sight,  introduce  in  the 
intermediate  classes,  and  in  the  higher  classes  as  each 
is  ready  for  the  new  work. 

(2)  The  most  serious  difficulties  come  at  the  be- 
ginning ;  because  each  course  presupposes  familiarity 
with  the  courses  which  come  before.  Hence  the  de- 
sirability of  holding  back  the  intermediate  lessons 
until  one  class  of  juniors  has  been  graduated  into  the 
intermediate  department.  Each  year  of  graded 
teaching  makes  the  work  easier  for  the  next  year. 

(3)  The  lesson  year  begins  on  the  first  Sunday  of 
October.  That  is,  therefore,  the  time  to  start,  begin- 
nings with  Lesson  i  in  each  course  used.     If  neces- 


STUDY  AND  EXPRESSION  119 

sary  to  begin  on  January  i,  start  the  primary  courses 
with  Lesson  14,  since  with  the  little  children  much  is 
made  of  the  seasons,  and  the  lessons  must  come  on 
the  Sundays  for  which  they  have  been  planned.  In 
the  junior  and  higher  courses  the  start  may  be  made 
with  Lesson  i  at  any  time,  though  it  is  always  prefer- 
able to  begin  at  the  opening  of  the  school  year. 

(4)  In  the  graded  courses  the  lessons  run  by 
themes,  sections,  quarters  and  years.  No  lesson 
stands  by  itself  as  under  the  old  plan.  Teachers 
must,  therefore,  study  by  quarters  and  sections  as 
well  as  by  single  lessons,  and  must  know  their  whole 
course  before  they  can  properly  teach  the  first  lesson. 
The  pupil's  book  or  folder  must  be  made  up  as  speci- 
fied, that  it  may  be  shown  as  a  sample  of  the  hand- 
work desired.  At  least  a  month's  start  is  needed  for 
this  advance  preparation. 

(5)  In  giving  out  this  advance  material,  the 
teacher  should  be  directed  to  read  the  pupil's  book 
with  the  eyes  and  heart  of  a  pupil,  then  the  teacher's 
book,  mastering  the  "  foreword  "  and  other  general 
explanations,  noting  the  aims  of  the  course,  studying 
the  Bible  references,  working  out  the  handwork,  and 
planning  what  expressive  work  the  class  shall  be 
asked  to  do. 

(6)  For  each  class  that  is  to  begin  a  graded 
course,  determine  the  class  age-year,  and  use  the 
course  specified  for  that  year. 

(7)  The  simplest  plan  of  introduction  is  to  start 
all  classes  in  the  department  on  the  first  year  lessons 
for  that  department.  The  second  year  the  new 
classes  take  the  first  year's  lessons,  while  the  classes 
of  the  second  and  third  years  take  the  second  year's 
lessons  and  those  who  were  third-year  pupils  last 
year  are  promoted  and  get  the  first  year's  lessons  in 
the  next  higher  department.  By  the  third  year  all 
three  grades  in  each  department  are  getting  the 
proper  lessons;  and  thereafter  each  child  gets  the 


120    CHUECH-8CH00L  ADMINTSTEATIOH 

whole  course  as  he  passes  from  one  grade  and  depart- 
ment to  the  next. 

(b)  Selection  of  Course  Material. — In  selecting 
its  lesson  supplies,  the  church  school  will,  of  course, 
use  those  issued  by  its  own  denominational  supply 
house,  unless  cause  for  other  choice  is  clearly  shown. 
Nearly  every  denomination  publishes  text-books  on 
the  International  graded  lessons  or  its  own  church 
courses.  The  independent  graded  courses  are  of 
high  educational  merit,  some  directors  preferring 
them  to  the  International  issues. 

To  mix  courses,  taking  one  year's  work  from  one 
series  and  another  from  another,  is  seldom  wise,  un- 
less the  school  is  under  a  trained  educational  leader, 
able  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  thus  brought  in.  The 
aims  of  the  different  series  are  not  identical,  and  a 
year's  course  in  one  does  not  necessarily  lead  up  to 
the  next  year's  course  in  another. 

Each  department  principal  should  keep  a  graded 
roll,  showing  the  pupils  arranged  by  classes,  with 
each  pupil's  year-grade  noted.  The  standard  is, 
from  the  juniors  up,  at  least  one  class  of  boys  and 
one  of  girls  for  each  grade.  Before  Promotion  Day 
this  roll  will  be  made  up  for  the  new  graded  year.  If 
the  standard  is  reached,  the  determination  of  the 
courses  and  the  preparation  of  the  order-sheet  will 
be  a  simple  matter.  Where  the  school  is  too  small  to 
make  this  possible,  two  or  more  grades  will  be  repre- 
sented in  one  class ;  and  the  course  to  be  followed  will 
be  that  of  the  average  year-age  of  the  group  thus 
formed.     In  case  of  doubt  it  is  better  to  select  the 


STUDY  AND  EXPEESSION  121 

younger  course,  giving  extra  work  to  the  brighter  or 
more  advanced  pupils.  If  by  mistake  an  older  course 
is  assigned,  it  may  take  several  years  to  make  the  cor- 
rection, as  the  class  must  proceed  each  year  to  the 
course  next  in  order. 

(c)  Allowable  Teaching  Freedom.  —  When  the 
course  is  once  chosen,  each  teacher  should  loyally 
strive  to  learn  and  teach  the  lessons  thus  assigned. 
The  aims  printed  in  the  teacher's  book  indicate  the 
general  objective  for  the  year.  To  cover  the  ground 
of  the  lessons,  imparting  their  information-content 
and  securing  the  specified  handwork,  memory  work, 
honour  work  and  other  assignments,  is  a  secondary 
objective,  to  be  reached  so  far  as  it  contributes  to  the 
gaining  of  the  primary  objective  in  character-culture 
and  spiritual  development,  or  does  not  detract  tliere- 
from.  The  teacher,  therefore,  must  be  left  free  to 
determine  how  much  of  this  lesson  content  he  will 
undertake  to  embody  in  his  quarterly  lesson  plan. 

Trained  teachers,  and  those  who  have  had  experi- 
ence in  the  course  with  one  or  more  previous  classes, 
may  be  allowed  also  considerable  freedom  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  their  quarterly  course.  Some  lessons 
may  for  this  class  be  worth  two  or  even  three  Sun- 
days' study.  Wherever  a  project  is  undertaken,  even 
so  simple  a  one  as  the  making  of  a  class  biography  of 
the  main  hero  studied,  some  lessons  will  have  to  be 
sacrificed  in  order  to  make  room  for  others.  It  is  far 
better  to  determine  such  rearrangements  in  advance 
than  merely  to  fall  behind  and  end  the  quarter  with 
the  last  few  lessons  unreached.  But  as  the  daily 
home  readings  on  each  lesson  form  an  important  part 


122    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ABMIOTSTRATION 

of  the  character-training  provided,  and  as  the  interest 
in  these  depends  largely  on  their  relation  to  the  cur- 
rent lesson,  the  teacher  who  deviates  from  the  quar- 
terly calendar  should  provide  reading  assignments  to 
correspond  v^ith  the  revised  plan. 

Assignments 
I  a.    Who  should  settle  what  lessons  the  church 
school  shall  study?     Why? 

lb.    Who  benefit  by  uniformity  in  lesson  material'? 

id.    Why  are  graded  uniform  lessons  impossible? 

2a.  ( I )  Is  it  possible  to  simplify  the  "  closely 
graded"  system?  How?  (2)  What  do  we  lose  in 
so  doing  ? 

2c.  Name  some  of  the  features  that  must  be  em- 
bodied in  a  course  of  study  in  any  school. 

3a.  The  lessons  of  a  church  school  must  consti- 
tute a  course  in  religion.  Is  this  a  religious  necessity 
or  an  educational  necessity?    Why? 

3b.  List  some  of  the  difficulties  under  which  re- 
ligion is  now  taught  in  the  average  church  school. 

3c.  (i)  Why  is  it  needful  to  correlate  the  work  of 
troops,  societies,  etc.,  with  the  work  for  the  corre- 
sponding ages  in  the  church  school?  (2)  Name 
some  of  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  so  doing. 

4a.  Explain  the  difference  between  a  logical  aim 
for  a  lesson  and  a  psychologic  aim. 

4b.  (i)  What  part  did  the  yearly  aims  have  in 
the  making  of  the  graded  lesson  series?  (2)  How 
have  logical  and  psychologic  aims  become  mingled  in 
the  publication  of  most  of  the  graded  courses  ? 

4c.  How  should  the  director,  superintendent  or 
principal  use  the  lesson  aims? 


STUDY  AND  EXPRESSION  123 

5.  Why  must  instruction  come  out  as  well  as  go 
in?    Illustrate. 

5a.  Why  and  how  is  the  school's  worship  a  neces- 
sary part  of  its  educational  plan  ? 

5b.  Describe  one  or  two  types  of  expressive  activ- 
ity used  in  connection  with  graded  lessons. 

5c.  Why  are  our  lesson  applications  to  conduct  so 
seldom  taken  seriously  ? 

5d.  (i)  How  would  you  lead  up  to  a  time  for 
seeking  Christian  decisions?  (2)  If  evangelism  is  to 
be  educational,  as  it  should  be,  what  qualities  must 
the  decisions  show?  (3)  How  may  tiiey  be  fol- 
lowed up  ? 

6.  (i)  What  is  an  educational  project?  (2)  In 
what  way  is  it  the  opposite  of  an  expressive  activity  ? 
(3)  Under  what  conditions  may  the  project  method 
be  applied  to  religious  teaching? 

7a.  Write  one  or  two  suggestions  for  a  superin- 
tendent who  expects  soon  to  introduce  graded  lessons 
into  his  school. 

7b.  Explain  how  the  courses  to  be  studied  next 
year  in  your  school  are  to  be  determined. 

7c.  (i)  What  is  more  important  than  that  the 
teacher  shall  cover  the  whole  ground  of  every  lesson? 
(2)  What  freedom  is  permitted  your  teachers  in  the 
rearrangement  of  their  quarterly  courses  ? 


VI 

THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES 

1.     Church  Duty  to  the  Home. 

(a)  Home  the  Great  School  of  Religion. — Home 
is  the  great  field  for  religious  education.  All  that  the 
best  church  school  can  do  to  build  Christian  character 
and  train  for  godly  living  is  small  compared  with 
what  could  be  done  in  the  homes,  were  these  dedi- 
cated to  the  task,  prepared  by  training  and  equipment 
for  its  performance  and  united  with  the  church  in  a 
close  bond  of  fellowship  and  mutual  cooperation.  In 
the  rare  cases  where  these  conditions  are  fulfilled,  the 
results  fully  establish  the  thesis  here  maintained. 

(&)  Religion  Moved  to  the  Church. — In  defiance 
of  this  well-established  fact,  the  processes  of  religious 
activity  have  been  moved  from  the  home  to  the 
church,  leaving  the  home  without  adequate  time  or 
means  for  the  discharge  of  its  religious-educational 
duty. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Dike  in  1884  pointed  out  that 
the  church  for  nearly  a  century  had  been  enriching 
its  own  program  of  centralized  activities  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  home's  chance  to  cultivate  family  re- 
ligion. Sunday-school  sessions,  missionary  societies, 
temperance  and  other  reformatory  meetings,  young 
people's  meetings,  brotherhoods  and  guilds, — each  as 
it  came  in  had  seized  on  some  Sunday  or  week-day 

124 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        125 

hour  and  appropriated  it  for  the  use  of  its  own 
church-centered  activity.  The  churches,  in  fact,  had 
done  for  reUgious  training  what  the  factories  had 
done  for  industrial  training.  They  had  taken  it  out 
of  the  home. 

(c)  Origin  of  the  Home  Department. — Others 
before  Dike  had  seen  this  and  had  inveighed  against 
these  movements  for  thus  discrediting  and  blocking 
the  processes  of  home  religion.  Dike  saw  that  the 
movements  were  in  themselves  good,  but  that  their 
tendency  to  exploit  the  home  must  be  met  by  a  coun- 
ter-tendency that  would  carry  a  part  of  the  energy 
thus  developed  in  the  church  back  to  the  home  again. 
To  meet  this  need  he  invented  the  mechanism  of  the 
home  department  and  supervised  its  early  operation 
in  the  rural  parish  at  Royalston,  Vermont. 

Three  years  before  this  a  movement  developed  In 
the  New  York  State  Sunday-school  Association  for 
the  organizing  of  home  classes  as  Sunday-school  out- 
stations  in  outlying  neighbourhoods,  to  be  gathered 
from  adjoining  homes  and  taught  each  week  by  a 
visiting  teacher  from  the  Sunday  school.  As  these 
classes  met  in  the  homes,  the  movement  was  a  contri- 
bution to  the  need  later  voiced  by  Dr.  Dike.  Later  a 
determined  effort  was  made  by  W.  A.  Duncan,  leader 
of  the  home  class  movement,  to  identify  the  two ;  and 
for  many  years  he  was  for  the  combined  idea  the 
zealous  spokesman  and  International  leader.  The 
home  class  method  has  always  been  an  interesting 
missionary  possibility,  seldom  realized;  while  the 
home  department  idea  of  Dr.  Dike,  enriched  with  im- 
provements from  several  sources,  has  for  a  genera- 


126    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

tion  been  a  standard  method,  indispensable  to  the 
right  organization  of  the  church  school. 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  home  department 
method,  more  new  ways  of  getting  the  children,  the 
young  people  and  the  parents  out  of  the  homes  have 
developed  than  in  the  whole  century  preceding.  Not 
all  of  these  now  center  in  the  church  or  are  of  as- 
suredly uplifting  value.  If  Dike  had  need  to  rescue 
the  home  in  the  name  of  religious  training,  our  need 
is  critical  indeed.  It  is  our  business  first  to  see,  then 
to  understand,  and  then  to  meet  the  situation. 

2.     Home  Service  to  the  Church  School. 

(a)  The  Self-Sufficient  Home. — The  first  diffi- 
culty we  encounter  in  any  plan  of  service  to  the  home 
is  its  spirit  of  self-sufficiency.  This  is  not  a  fault  but 
a  virtue.  It  springs  from  the  instinct  of  full  parental 
responsibility  for  the  welfare  and  right  upbringing  of 
the  children.  Any  policy  that  tends  to  break  down 
this  instinct,  whatever  its  immediate  advantages,  will 
ultimately  weaken  the  power  of  the  home.  We 
must,  therefore,  beware  of  methods  that  aim  to  sub- 
stitute the  influence  of  the  teacher  or  any  other 
school  institution  in  place  of  that  of  the  parents. 
However  incompetent,  they  must  be  strengthened  and 
established  as  educational  factors  rather  than  dispos- 
sessed. When  the  case  passes  the  point  where  this  is 
possible,  it  is  one  for  attention  by  the  public  authori- 
ties or  the  social  agencies  rather  than  by  the  church 
school. 

{b)  The  First  Step  a  Call  for  Service. — Taking 
this  difficulty  on  the  flank,  then,  let  our  first  aid  to 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        127 

the  home  come  in  the  form  of  a  call  for  its  coopera- 
tion. Our  general  church-school  program  has  long 
included  this  call;  but  we  have  thought  of  the  co- 
operation as  a  gain  to  our  own  work.  So  it  is ;  and 
so  much  the  better  for  our  present  purpose.  Let  this 
continue  to  be  the  only  motive  we  avow ;  for  so  long 
as  we  stand  on  this  ground  we  do  not  raise  the  issue 
of  home  independence. 

In  responding  to  this  reasonable  call,  however, 
many  parents  will  take  their  first  steps  in  conscious 
religious  effort  for  their  children.  Apart  from  any 
question  of  the  furtherance  of  our  school  plans,  it  is 
worth  while  to  seek  home  cooperation  for  the  sake  of 
the  home ;  for  in  this  way  it  may  be  possible  to  start 
the  home  to  working  on  its  own  immeasurably  greater 
program. 

(c)  A  Scale  of  Home  Cooperation. — The  specific 
services  which  the  homes  may  render  to  the  church 
school  vary  with  the  different  grades.  As  an  aid  in 
the  systematizing  of  our  efforts  and  in  the  rating  of 
our  homes  as  to  the  degree  of  cooperation  secured, 
we  may  use  some  such  scale  of  home  cooperation  as 
the  following : 

1.  Attendance.  Child  sent  regularly;  attendance 
facilitated. 

2.  Disciplinary,  Report  card  signed  and  re- 
turned ;  authority  of  school  and  teacher  supported. 

3.  Facilitating.  Home  life  regulated  so  as  to  fa- 
cilitate the  child's  full  performance  of  home-study 
tasks. 

4.  Sympathetic.  Parents  attend  church-school 
events  and  discourage  adverse  claims  of  other  inter- 
ests on  child's  work-time. 


128    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

5.  Financial.  Regular,  spontaneous  and  personal 
giving  encouraged;  parents  contribute,  proportion- 
ately to  means,  to  church-school  funds. 

6.  Normative.  Parents  second  school  in  the  ef- 
fort to  establish  habits  of  religious  living  such  as 
church-going. 

7.  Pedagogic.  Assistance  in  lesson  study  and 
other  home  work  for  the  church  school. 

8.  Devotional.  Family  worship  maintained,  with 
grace  at  meals. 

9.  Evangelistic.  Early  lessons  in  prayer  and  rec- 
ognition of  God's  presence,  power  and  love;  presen- 
tation of  Jesus  as  Saviour  and  Lord;  encouragement 
of  child  in  seeking  full  church  membership  as  soon  as 
he  feels  himself  ready  and  the  church  authorities  ap- 
prove. 

10.  Vocational,  Encouragement  of  the  child  in 
seeking  to  obey  the  divine  call  to  service  in  God's 
kingdom. 

Good  management  of  the  church  school  calls  for  a 
systematized  effort  to  secure  the  rendering  of  these 
services  by  every  represented  family.  A  method  for 
coordinating  the  forces  that  must  work  together  to 
this  end,  if  it  is  to  be  even  partially  accomplished,  is 
outlined  under  Section  6,  below. 

3.     A  Home  Program  of  Religious  Education. 

(a)  A  Wide  Scope. — By  as  much  as  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  home  is  larger  than  that  of  the  church 
school,  by  so  much  is  the  possible  content  of  its  re- 
ligious education  fuller  and  its  material  more  varied. 

A  parent  who  is  religiously  minded  may  make  any 
contact  with  the  child,  at  any  age,  a  means  for  de- 
veloping his  sense  of  relationship  with  God.    Jesus, 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        129 

as  He  walked  and  taught  in  Galilee,  saw  the  power  of 
God  around  Him  in  nature  and  man  and  turned  the 
simplest  and  most  homely  incidents  and  objects  into 
lessons  in  religion.  A  matter-of-fact  parent,  whose 
religion,  like  Martha's,  is  practical  rather  than  mys- 
tical, may  yet  be  shown,  along  his  own  temperamentcd 
line,  how  to  teach  religion  at  home.  All  parents  may 
at  least  be  called  on  to  cleanse  their  own  lives  and 
seek  a  deeper  religious  experience  for  the  sake  of 
their  children's  religion. 

(b)  Goals,  Not  Standards. — No  two  homes,  of 
course,  could  follow  the  same  program.  To  erect  a 
standard  program  would  therefore  be  an  idle  en- 
deavour. But  a  wise  leader  might  lead  some  of  his 
homes  to  adopt  a  series  of  goals  of  home  endeavour, 
and  then  he  might  aid  these  homes  in  finding  definite 
ways  of  seeking  these  goals.  When  a  circle  of  such 
families  had  begun  to  work  and  pray  together  in  the 
pursuit  of  these  goals,  it  might  be  found  possible  to 
draw  others  into  the  circle.  Methods  tried  in  one 
family  and  found  effective  would  tend  to  become 
standard  for  the  church  or  community  group,  and  if 
of  general  value  would  be  utilized  elsewhere. 

Among  such  goals  of  family  endeavour  may  be 
suggested : 

( 1 )  The  establishment  in  the  home  of  the  reign  of 
law.  When  father  and  mother  are  themselves  guided 
not  by  caprice  or  passion,  but  by  rule,  even  the  infant 
feels  the  influence  and  learns  the  lesson  of  self-mas- 
tery at  the  call  of  a  higher  power. 

(2)  An  appraisal  of  conduct  on  lines  of  duty 
rather  than  those  of  pleasure  or  economic  value.    As 


130    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

long  as  the  breaking  of  a  glass  brings  a  whipping  and 
the  telling  of  a  lie  a  laugh,  religious  home  training 
cannot  begin. 

(3)  An  early  familiarity  and  sympathy  with  the 
works  of  nature  as  manifestations  of  God  and  outlets 
for  religious  impulse. 

(4)  Grace  at  meat,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  our 
daily  dependence  on  God's  care. 

(5)  Early  use  of  the  approved  means  of  grace, 
especially  private  prayer,  the  Bible  and  family  wor- 
ship. 

(6)  Unconscious  tuition  through  pictures  and  ob- 
jects of  religious  value. 

(7)  Provision  of  books  and  periodicals  likely  to 
interest  in  facts  and  considerations  of  religious  value. 

(8)  Story-telling  and  reading  aloud  with  the  chil- 
dren. 

(9)  The  habit  of  extending  hospitality  to  visitors 
whose  table-talk  and  personal  influence  may  prove  a 
religious  stimulus  to  the  younger  members  of  the 
family. 

(10)  Formation  of  plans  for  the  children's  edu- 
cation and  life-work  in  which  God's  call  and  the 
claims  of  His  kingdom  shall  have  a  part. 

4.     Agencies  for  Reaching  the  Homes. 

(a)  The  Pastor  as  Preacher. — High  on  the  list  of 
the  home-reaching  agencies  of  the  church  must  be 
reckoned  the  pulpit  service,  with  its  opportunity  for 
the  preacher  to  speak  from  time  to  time  directly  to 
the  parents  in  attendance  as  to  the  message  of  home 
religion  and  the  vehicles  for  expressing  it  effectively. 
The  leader  of  the  church  school,  considering  the  ur- 
gency of  the  need,  is  surely  not  presumptuous  in  sug- 
gesting to  the  pastor  from  time  to  time  the  value  and 
pertinence  of  sermons  to  the  home. 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        131 

(b)  The  Pastor  as  Visitor. — Still  more  significant 
is  the  pastoral  service  of  visitation.  We  have  not 
yet,  even  in  city  and  suburban  fields,  outgrown  the 
expectation  of  more  or  less  regular  pastoral  calls.  A 
pastor  with  a  program  for  his  homes  might  touch 
them  all  in  a  year  without  adding  to  his  labours  any 
service  that  he  does  not  owe  them  now. 

If  we  determine  to  insist  on  the  inclusion  of  the 
pastor  in  the  church  school's  educational  plan,  we 
may  insure  at  least  his  familiarity  with  our  home  pro- 
gram; and  some  pastors  will  forthwith  make  this 
program  their  own.  As  leader  of  church  activities, 
the  pastor  may  in  many  ways  throw  his  influence  in- 
dependently in  the  direction  of  the  fostering  of  home 
religion;  and  in  the  pulpit,  as  we  have  seen,  he  has 
the  ear  of  all  parents  who  are  members  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

(c)  The  Cradle  Roll. — Vast  possibilities  inhere  in 
this  popular  but  far  from  fully  utilized  church 
agency.  The  apparent  simplicity  and  juvenility  of 
cradle-roll  forms  of  work  must  not  lead  the  church- 
school  administrator  to  undervalue  its  efficiency. 
Under  a  trained  and  purposeful  leader,  with  reason- 
able support  from  the  related  departments  and  from 
the  treasury,  the  power  of  the  cradle  roll  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  religious  education  in  the  homes  is  pro- 
found. 

To  begin  with,  the  cradle-roll  superintendent's 
friendly  call  on  the  new  baby  and  his  parents  is  al- 
most never  unwelcome,  however  estranged  from  re- 
ligion and  church  the  family  may  be.  It  is  easy  then 
to  invoke  the  spirit  of  responsibility  for  this  newlx 


132    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMmiSTEATIOJST 

entrusted  soul  and  to  suggest  steps  for  discharging 
the  trust,  directly  in  the  care  of  the  child,  indirectly 
in  a  better  performance  of  acknowledged  church 
duties  and  home  religious  observances.  Thousands 
of  families  have  thus  been  drawn  from  the  outside 
into  the  warm  fellowship  of  the  church's  religious 
life,  and  the  children's  religious  nurture  has  so  far 
been  assured.  In  the  work  of  welcome  and  enlist- 
ment the  partnership  of  the  beginners'  teacher,  the 
adult  classes  and  the  pastor  is  called  for;  and  this 
should  be  seen  to  by  the  executive  of  the  school. 

In  homes  of  culture  and  external  church  connec- 
tion the  problem  is  different  but  the  need  not  less. 
The  cradle-roll  leader  may  here  seek  for  partners 
among  the  officers  of  the  woman's  club  and  the  par- 
ent-teachers' association  as  well  as  in  the  church- 
school  company.  Remembering  that  a  baby  is  the 
household  king  or  queen,  whatever  the  family's  es- 
tate, let  the  visitor,  with  tact  and  courage,  carry  out 
her  visiting  and  reminder-sending  program  and  ask 
God's  blessing  on  its  influence. 

(d)  The  Home  Department. — Ambitiously  named 
is  this  institution;  for  it  reaches  only  some  of  the 
homes  and  does  even  for  them  but  a  part  of  the 
service  the  church  is  due  to  render.  For  years,  as 
we  have  seen,  it  was  confused  with  the  quite  distinct 
method  of  home  classes.  It  has  further  suffered  from 
over-advocacy  by  zealous  partisans  who  have  failed 
to  see  it  as  one  line  of  a  larger  service  that  should  be 
developed  in  its  entirety.  But  in  itself  the  method 
introduced  in  1885  by  Dr.  Dike  is  as  valuable  to-day 
as  when  first  presented. 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        133 

There  is  need,  however,  for  a  broadening  in  the 
content  of  instruction  in  the  lessons  brought  by  the 
home  department  visitors  into  the  home.  The  quar- 
terly magazine  expounding  the  current  uniform  les- 
son may  still  be  used  where  that  seems  the  best 
response  to  the  Bible-studying  capacities  of  the  mem- 
bers. But  the  department  should  constitute  itself  a 
bureau  for  the  distribution  of  all  kinds  of  literature 
needed  in  the  homes,  especially  bulletins  bearing  on 
child-training.  In  homes  where  older  children  are 
studying  the  intermediate  or  senior  graded  lessons, 
the  parents  may  take  these  as  the  basis  of  their  own 
home  studies  and  be  credited  therewith.  The  deter- 
mining of  what  lessons  shall  be  used  by  the  home 
department  members  is  to  be  counted  one  of  the  edu- 
cational problems  of  the  church  school  and  settled 
accordingly. 

(e)  The  Organized  Adult  Class.  —  Besides  its 
many  other  functions  of  usefulness,  the  adult  class, 
organized  for  self-active  service  as  well  as  for  study, 
discussion  and  fellowship,  can  be  made  a  definite 
agency  of  home  stimulation  to  a  program  of  religious 
education.     Steps  in  this  direction  will  comprise : 

(i)  Development  of  the  class  recruiting  service 
until  it  draws  into  at  least  occasional  attendance  per- 
sons not  ordinarily  identified  with  church  member- 
ship and  activity.  The  methods  of  such  "  boosting  " 
are  familiar. 

(2)  Among  the  class  membership  as  thus  en- 
larged will  be  found  many  parents.  Occasional  les- 
sons and  discussions  may  be  given  on  problems  in 
nurture,  guidance  and  home  discipline,  and  the  result- 


134    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMimSTRATION 

ing  interest  and  participation  noted.  A  simple  ques- 
tionnaire may  be  passed  to  ascertain  and  record  the 
facts.  The  way  may  thus  be  prepared  for  the  organ- 
izing of  one  or  more  classes  of  parents. 

(3)  Special  addresses  by  teachers,  physicians  and 
social  workers  on  problems  of  the  home  may  from 
time  to  time  be  introduced  in  the  general  class  pro- 
gram. 

(4)  Father-and-son  and  mother-and-daughter 
banquets,  promoted  as  class  activities,  may  be  made 
an  annual  feature  of  the  class  social  program.  They 
should  be  planned  so  as  to  be  educationally  and  re- 
ligiously purposeful  and  not  merely  jolly  times. 

(5)  Connection  should  be  established  with  the 
home  department,  by  which  each  adult  class  may 
refer  to  the  home  department  all  its  members  who  are 
unable  for  a  time  to  attend,  and  by  which  also  the 
visiting  home-department  members  shall  be  welcomed 
to  seats  as  extension  members  of  the  class.  From 
the  adult  class  membership  also  will  be  recruited  the 
needed  visitors  and  substitutes  for  the  home  depart- 
ment's force.  The  simplest  way  to  establish  this 
connection  will  be  by  making  the  home  department 
superintendent  or  one  of  the  leading  visitors  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  executive  committee. 

(/)  The  Parents'  Department. — We  have  seen 
with  what  instinctive  aversion  the  average  parent 
receives  outside  advice  as  to  what  he  is  to  do  for  his 
own  child.  He  feels  that  "  a  man's  house  is  his 
castle."  For  an  enthusiastic  educational  director  or 
a  teacher  with  ideas  to  proceed  to  form  a  parents* 
class  or  department,  in  order  to  impart  to  the  parents 
of  the  church  that  wholesome  instruction  in  parent- 
hood which  they  now  lack,  is  to  invite  failure.  The 
subject  must  be  approached  indirectly. 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        135 

If  the  way  has  been  prepared  by  systematic  calls 
from  the  departments  and  classes  for  home  coopera- 
tion (Sec.  2b),  and  by  studies  of  home  problems  in 
the  adult  classes  (Sec.  4e),  a  beginning  may  be  made 
by  calling  together  a  few  of  the  more  intelligent 
and  interested  parents  and  suggesting  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  parents'  club  or  circle,  for  parents  of  junior 
pupils,  high  school  pupils,  or  some  other  group  of 
children  or  youth.  Leadership  of  the  movement 
should  as  soon  as  possible  be  lodged  with  the  parents 
themselves.  The  school  register,  if  properly  kept, 
will  furnish  a  directory  of  the  parents,  with  resi- 
dence, occupation  and  church  affiliation.  With  the 
help  of  this  information,  supplemented  from  the 
church  roll  and  the  pastor's  visiting  list,  the  club 
membership  may  be  recruited. 

After  the  meetings  for  organization,  the  club 
should  plan  for  a  limited  series  of  meetings  for  the 
season.  It  may  hear  lectures  by  the  educational  di- 
rector or  some  other  speaker,  follow  a  text-book 
course  or  prepare  its  own  program,  with  papers  from 
the  members,  followed  by  discussion.  A  small  club 
grouped  around  a  definite  age  of  childhood  can  do 
better  work  than  a  large  body  whose  bond  of  inter- 
est is  more  diverse. 

One  such  club,  successfully  started,  will  pave  the 
way  for  another.  A  parents'  department,  with  super- 
intendent and  a  definite  program,  will  naturally  fol- 
low. The  periodic  canvasses  of  the  home  department 
should  advertise  the  parents'  classes  and  recruit 
members  for  the  parents'  department. 

In  many  beginners'   departments  a   company  of 


136    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

mothers  is  already  in  attendance  as  visitors,  some' 
times  to  the  serious  embarrassment  of  the  orderly 
work  of  the  hour.  To  reassure  these  that  their  off- 
spring will  be  safe  without  them  should  not  be  hard. 
Then  an  invitation  to  a  conference  in  some  adjoin- 
ing room  may  be  given;  and  after  one  or  two  weeks 
of  preliminary  conversations,  with  exhibit  of  bulle- 
tins secured  from  the  Children's  Bureau  at  Wash- 
ington on  diet  for  young  children  and  other  practical 
matters,  a  definite  call  may  be  extended  to  all  moth- 
ers of  young  children  and  a  start  made  on  a  ten- 
weeks'  course  of  class  study.  A  class  of  older  girls 
might  cooperate  by  contributing  some  "  sunshine 
band  "  work  in  staying  with  the  babies  at  home  or 
caring  for  them  elsewhere  in  the  church  while  their 
mothers  were  thus  engaged.  If  the  beginners' 
teacher  must  lead  this  group,  the  time  will  have  to 
be  fixed  at  some  other  hour  than  that  of  the  church 
school. 

5.     Training  for  Parenthood. 

A  vital  function  of  the  church  school  under  all  con- 
ditions is  the  training  which  it  is  due  to  furnish,  in 
rudimental  form  to  the  intermediates  and  more 
specifically  to  the  senior  and  young  people's  classes, 
in  the  principles  of  home-making  and  child-nurture. 
The  inauguration  of  such  a  service  would  be  an 
appropriate  activity  for  the  parents'  department  and 
an  easy  extension  of  its  scope.  Having  finished  for 
themselves  a  course  in  child-nurture,  with  its  dis- 
cussions on  the  mistakes  of  parents  and  their  tragic 
consequences,  what  more  natural  than  that  these  now 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        137 

thoughtful  parents  should  take  steps  to  save  the  pres- 
ent young  people  of  the  church  from  like  mistakes 
and  to  lead  them  to  a  clearer  conception  of  the  re- 
sponsibilities, the  joys  and  the  conditions  of  success- 
ful child-training?  But  the  need  for  such  service  is 
too  urgent  to  await  the  prior  starting  of  parents' 
work. 

(a)  A  Community  Responsibility. — But  this  is  not 
primarily  a  church  responsibility.  It  inheres  in  our 
whole  social  situation.  The  earnest  words  of  Her- 
bert Spencer,  in  his  classic  little  work  on  education, 
should  not  be  forgotten.  Speaking  as  a  biologist,  he 
postulates  that  the  great  work  of  this  generation  is 
to  cause  that  the  next  generation  shall  reach  higher 
ground  in  the  scale  of  existence,  physical  and  social. 
It  therefore  follows  that  of  all  possible  fields  of  for- 
mal education  the  most  significant  is  education  in  the 
principles,  the  art  and  the  purpose  of  intelligent  and 
loving  parenthood.  To  us  who  in  addition  see  the 
value  of  the  religious  element  in  education,  this  sage 
reminder  comes  with  double  force. 

(b)  A  Task  for  the  Church  School. — Here  is  one 
fundamental  task  which  for  two  reasons  may  prop- 
erly be  left  by  the  community  to  the  church  school. 
In  the  first  place,  most  pupils  leave  the  day  school 
before  the  mating  instinct,  with  its  aroused  interest 
in  home  problems,  has  begun  to  dominate  life.  In 
the  second  place,  all  parties  are  ready  to  agree  that 
a  religious  background  should  colour  and  shape  the 
teaching  and  training  of  the  home.  Whenever  the 
church  school,  or  the  community  school  for  week- 
day training  in  religion,  can  qualify  for  the  depend- 


138    CHTJECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

able  discharge  of  this  trust,  general  education  will  be 
ready  to  pass  it  over. 

This  trust,  let  it  be  noted,  cannot  be  confined  to 
the  teaching  of  religious  values  alone.  The  great 
essential  in  successful  home  teaching  of  anything  is 
atmosphere,  the  combined  influence  of  the  home  sit- 
uation as  a  whole.  There  can  be  no  dividing  be- 
tween the  physical,  mental,  social  and  religious 
phases  of  this  situation  by  those  who  would  plant 
seeds  of  better  home  life  in  young  and  aspiring 
hearts.  If  the  desired  religion  of  the  home  is  to  be 
a  real  and  a  living  religion,  it  must  function  in  and 
through  every  feature  that  makes  the  home,  sustains 
its  life  and  gives  it  character.  Here,  then,  is  one 
field  where  the  natural  unity  of  general  and  religious 
education,  divorced  by  nineteenth-century  conditions 
of  life  in  a  new  democracy,  may  without  controversy 
be  experimentally  reestablished. 

(c)  A  Field  for  New  Endeavour. — How  this  great 
trust  is  to  be  administered  is  a  question  not  yet 
furnished  with  a  standardized  and  well-tried  answer. 
We  have  not  yet  even  assured  ourselves  of  regular 
contact  with  the  individuals  for  whom  the  instruction 
is  to  be  provided.  Many  of  these  are  in  the  ages 
that  call  students  and  workers  away  from  home. 
The  project  method,  with  its  necessarily  expert  han- 
dling and  its  freedom  from  fixed  and  sustaining 
courses  of  weekly  lesson  assignments,  seems  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  this  field.  Splendid  opportunity  is 
here  for  original  experiment,  the  working  out  of  new 
plans  and  the  making  of  history  in  religious  educa- 
tion. 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        139 

While  waiting  for  the  Edisons  of  the  situation  to 
appear,  those  engaged  in  the  more  commonplace 
service  of  teacher-training  may  take  notice  that  in 
the  possible  future  home  and  fireside  we  have  at 
least  as  worthy  an  object  of  normal  study  by  young 
people  as  in  the  responsibilities  of  the  church-school 
teacher's  chair.  Bible  study,  child  psycholog}^,  meth- 
ods of  teaching  and  the  place  and  standard  methods 
of  the  church  school  are  all  studies  of  prime  value  to 
the  future  parent ;  while  such  a  course  as  that  on  the 
training  of  the  devotional  life  is  more  a  home  course 
than  a  school  course  by  far.  In  planning  and  pro- 
moting our  training  courses  and  classes,  then,  while 
properly  stressing  ostensibly  the  call  for  church- 
school  teachers,  we  may  well  have  in  mind  the  need 
for  trained  home  teachers  too. 

6.     The  Department  of  the  Home. 

(a)  Elements  of  the  Combination. — Putting  to- 
gether all  the  actual  and  possible  resources  of  the 
church  for  the  reaching  and  leading  of  its  homes  in 
the  work  of  religious  education,  we  have  the  elements 
out  of  which  may  and  should  be  organized  a  De- 
partment of  the  Home. 

To  this  department  will  belong  all  that  part  of  the 
pastor's  work  which  concerns  the  homes,  all  the  cra- 
dle-roll work  which  involves  calls,  canvasses  and 
correspondence,  the  home  department  as  now  usually 
run,  the  home  side  of  the  adult  class  work,  the  par- 
ents' department,  the  home-training  side  of  the 
teacher-training  service,  and  the  principals  of  all  de- 
partments whose  teachers  and  supervisors  make  a 


140    CHUBOH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

call  on  the  homes  for  educational  cooperation.  The 
missionary  societies  and  all  other  church  agencies 
contributing  to  the  undergraduate  educational  pro- 
gram will  be  included  as  interest  may  Appear. 

(b)  Organisation  and  Relationships. — The  natural 
head  of  the  department  of  the  home  will  be  the  pas- 
tor. In  the  church  home  council,  meeting  statedly 
and  representing  every  agency  at  work  for  the  homes, 
he  will  preside.  A  home  superintendent  will  organ- 
ize and  correlate  the  various  activities  and  will  sup- 
ply initiative  as  to  areas  needing  further  service.  If 
the  existing  home  department  under  its  present 
standard  plan  can  be  broadened  in  thought  and  sym- 
pathy as  well  as  in  function  until  every  service-con- 
tributing body  is  welcomed  and  full  cooperation  and 
supplementation  is  secured,  no  launching  of  a  new 
enterprise  will  be  necessary. 

In  this  connection  we  may  note  that  it  is  time  to 
drop  the  sentimental  connection  of  the  home  depart- 
ment with  the  undergraduate  classes  of  the  Sunday 
school.  In  the  early  days  of  home  department  pro- 
motion this  was  made  much  of,  on  the  plea  that  our 
main  work  was  to  get  the  stay-at-homes  to  studying 
the  same  Bible  lesson  that  the  children  were  study- 
ing in  the  Sunday  school.  With  the  passing  of  uni- 
form lessons  this  plea  has  gone  out  of  date.  But 
the  logical  relationship  of  the  home  department  has 
always  been  in  reality  with  the  church  proper  rather 
than  with  the  attending  Sunday  school.  And  under 
our  new  conceptions  the  church  school  embraces  all 
that  is  educational  in  the  life  and  work  of  the  local 
cSiurch;  the  undergraduate  graded  school  of  religion 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        141 

being  one  church  activity  and  the  home  department 
another. 

By  the  present  International  standards,  as  already 
noted/  the  home  department  and  all  work  for  par- 
ents comes  tmder  the  care  of  the  adult  division.  Or- 
ganized work  for  young  people  in  teacher-training 
and  training  for  prospective  parents  goes  under  the 
young  people's  division. 

(c)  Program. — The  ultimate  objective  of  the  de- 
partment, of  course,  is  to  cause  each  home  where 
there  are  or  may  be  children  to  embark  upon  its  own 
proper  work  of  home  religious  education  for  each 
child  and  to  continue  this  work  to  the  child's  ma- 
turity. Toward  this  objective  the  pastor  may  preach 
and  labour,  and  the  parents  in  their  own  department 
may  be  led  in  the  development  of  higher  ideals  of 
home  religious  service.  Festival  occasions  may  be 
utilized  for  presenting  these  higher  ideals  in  pageant 
and  dramatic  form ;  and  the  claims  of  childhood  on 
the  home  may  be  voiced  at  father-and-son  banquets 
by  the  boys  themselves. 

The  systematic  efforts  of  the  department,  however, 
will  be  mainly  spent  on  the  securing  from  every 
home  of  the  full  ten-point  cooperation  with  the 
church  school  called  for  by  the  scale  given  above 
under  Section  2c.  Under  these  heads  each  agency 
concerned  should  be  asked  to  formulate  exactly  what 
cooperation  it  wants  and  to  do  its  part  in  making  such 
cooperation  easy.  Reports  should  be  systematically 
gathered,  not  from  the  homes  but  from  the  teachers 
and  other  workers  as  to  how  far  cooperation  has 
^  Chapter  I,  Sec.  3. 


142    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

been  rendered  and  what  benefits  have  been  observed 
therefrom. 

Then,  if  the  secretary  of  the  department  will  ar- 
range a  card  index  of  the  homes,  recording  first  the 
general  facts  and  then  the  periodically  gathered  rec- 
ord of  cooperation,  exact  information  on  the  progress 
of  the  homes  toward  a  home  policy  of  religious  edu- 
cation can  be  recorded  without  recourse  to  personal 
judgment  and  the  making  of  invidious  characteriza- 
tions. By  means  of  the  ten-point  scale  a  statistical 
measurement  may  be  made  of  home  cooperation ;  and 
reports  may  thus  be  given  that  will  stimulate  the 
progress  of  the  department's  work. 

Assignments 
I  a.     What  is  your  own  conviction  as  to  the  place 
the  home  should  have  in  religious  education? 

ic.  What  tendency  did  the  home  department  aim 
to  counteract  ?    By  what  method  ? 

2a,  Why  is  the  home  properly  jealous  of  inter- 
ference with  its  own  plans  of  child-nurture? 

2b.  In  assisting  the  home  along  this  line,  what 
should  be  our  first  step? 

2c.  Name  a  few  lines  on  which  the  church  school 
may  properly  seek  for  cooperation  from  the  home. 

3a.  Why  will  the  home's  own  program  of  re- 
ligious education  take  a  wide  range? 

3b.  Name  some  of  the  desirable  goals  of  home 
effort  in  religious  education. 

4a,  b.     What  can  the  pastor  do  to  help  ? 

4c.  In  what  ways  has  the  cradle-roll  superin- 
tendent a  unique  opportunity? 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  HOMES        143 

4d.  (i)  Why  is  the  home  department  ambi- 
tiously named?  (2)  What  can  it  do  to  increase  the 
practical  value  of  its  present  routine? 

4e.  Name  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  adult 
class  may  work  for  the  homes. 

4f.  (i)  What  specific  work  for  the  parents  is 
now  done  in  your  school?  (2)  How  would  you  start 
such  work  and  extend  it  after  the  first  steps  had  been 
taken? 

5a.  Why  is  training  for  parenthood  a  community 
responsibility  ? 

5b.  Why  may  the  community  be  expected,  when 
the  church  school  is  ready,  to  turn  over  the  general 
responsibility  of  training  for  parenthood  to  the 
church  ? 

5c.  (i)  Why  do  we  not  have  in  every  church 
school  a  well-developed  plan  for  training  in  the  re- 
ligious duties  of  future  parenthood?  (2)  What  part 
of  our  present  plans  may  be  adapted  to  that  end  ? 

6a.  What  elements  should  be  combined  into  a 
department  of  the  home  ? 

6b.     How  should  such  a  department  be  organized  ? 

6c.     What  are  some  of  the  things  it  can  do  ? 


VII 
THE  BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT 

1.     Begin  Where  You  Are. 

When  the  newly  called  administrator  takes  charge 
of  his  church  school,  the  first  element  of  the  situation 
to  meet  his  notice  will  be  the  room  or  rooms  in  which 
the  work  is  to  be  done.  So  far  as  these  rooms,  with 
their  equipment,  are  fixed  and  permanent  in  struc- 
ture, it  will  be  wise  for  him  to  conform  the  opening 
steps  of  his  plan  to  the  limitations  they  impose.  He 
must  show  that  he  can  work  with  the  tools  that  are 
given  him;  and  he  needs  to  gain  prestige  and  a  fol- 
lowing before  attempting  radical  measures.  The 
treatment  thus  far  has  therefore  said  little  about 
ways  and  means  for  adapting  the  church-school  plant 
to  the  needs  of  better  educational  service. 

Rooms  and  tools,  moreover,  are  dead  things.  No 
amount  of  modernness,  expensiveness  or  abundance 
in  the  material  outfit  will  supply  motive,  skill  and 
content  of  instruction,  or  can  take  the  place  of  edu- 
cational and  spiritual  life.  It  is  the  heart-touch  of 
the  living  teacher  that  makes  the  school.  What 
equipment  did  Jesus  lack  for  His  dialogue  with  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  His  parables  by  the  lake,  His  ser- 
mon on  the  mountainside?  Was  not  Garfield  right 
in  his  oft-quoted  sentiment  that  a  seat  on  the  end  of 
a  log,  with  Mark  Hopkins  on  the  other  end,  was  aJl 
the  university  he  wanted  ?    Why  then  should  not  the 

144 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  146 

church-school  administrator  bravely  take  the  rooms 
and  furnishings  that  he  has  and  go  on  making  the 
best  of  them? 

2.    The  Power  of  the  Wall. 

Why  not?  Because  Mark  Hopkins  is  not  a  fair 
sample  of  the  average  church-school  worker;  nor  is 
Garfield  a  fair  sample  of  the  average  pupil;  nor  is 
the  problem  of  teaching  one  auditor  comparable  to 
the  problem  of  organizing  and  administering  a 
school.  And  if  a  poor  workman  is  not  made  a  good 
workman  by  being  given  good  tools,  neither  is  a  good 
workman  given  his  chance  to  do  good  work  when  he 
is  condemned  to  work  for  years  under  conditions 
that  make  fine  or  even  standard  work  impossible. 

Edward  Thring,  headmaster  for  thirty-four  years 
at  Uppingham  School,  and  a  valiant  fighter  for  better 
conditions  in  English  education,  says :  ^ 

"  Whatever  men  say  or  think,  the  almighty  wall 
is,  after  all,  the  supreme  and  final  arbiter  of  schools. 

"  I  mean,  no  living  power  in  the  world  can  over- 
come the  dead,  unfeeling,  everlasting  pressure  of  the 
permanent  structure,  of  the  permanent  conditions  un- 
der which  work  has  to  be  done.  Every  now  and  then 
a  man  can  be  found  to  say  honestly : 

*  Stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make. 
Nor  iron  bars  a  cage.' 

But  men  are  not  trained  to  freedom  inside  a  prison. 
The  prison  will  have  its  due.  Slowly  but  surely  the 
immovable,  unless  demolished,  determines  the  shape 
of  all  inside  it. 

'Addresses,  pp.  75 f. 


146    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

"  Examine  well,  in  no  discontented  spirit,  seri- 
ously, hopefully,  the  structure  of  your  schools — the 
buildings,  the  appliances,  the  tools,  the  whole  ap- 
paratus for  work,  living  or  material.  Be  not  hasty; 
but  never  rest  till  you  have  got  the  almighty  wall  on 
your  side,  and  not  against  you.  Never  rest  till  you 
have  got  all  the  fixed  machinery  for  work,  the  best 
possible.  The  waste  in  a  teacher's  workshop  is  the 
lives  of  men.  And  what  becomes  of  the  waste? 
You  cannot  take  your  failures  and  lynch  them;  they 
live  on;  they  persist  in  living  on;  and  they  hang 
heavy  on  the  neck  of  all  progress." 

3.     Makeshift  Housing. 

(a)  The  Present  Situation. — In  the  light  of  this 
•suggestion,  what  shall  we  think  of  the  situation  in  the 
ordinary  church  school  to-day?  The  great  majority 
of  these  are  working  in  rooms  and  with  tools  that 
were  made  with  substantially  different  purposes  in 
view  from  those  which  our  workers  are  now  pursu- 
ing. There  is  hardly  an  item  of  our  program  but 
runs  against  some  architectural  limitation  to  educa- 
tional progress.  Such  a  limitation  is  often  taken  By 
the  worker  as  a  full  discharge  from  any  responsibility 
to  bring  his  work  up  to  standard  in  that  respect.  He 
bows  to  the  authority  of  the  almighty  wall. 

Many  Sunday-school  sessions  are  still  held,  for  all 
but  the  primary  class,  in  the  church  auditorium. 
Other  schools  use  a  broad  basement  room  with  a 
low  ceiling,  poorly  lighted,  ventilated,  divided  and 
approached.  The  limitations  of  the  old-time  country 
church  are  educationally  disheartening.  Yet  between 
these  and  the  recently  erected  "  modern  "  Sunday- 
school  building  or  parish  house,  if  we  seek  a  full 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  Ul 

efficiency,  there  is  frequently  not  so  much  to  choose. 
Most  of  these  proudly  cherished  structures  reflect  a 
conception  of  the  nature,  mechanism  and  scope  of 
church-school  work  that  is  already  passing  away. 
They  were  built  to  fit  the  Sunday  school  as  remem- 
bered by  the  building  committee,  rather  than  the 
school  of  the  church  and  the  community  as  visioned 
by  the  educational  prophets  of  to-day. 

(b)  The  Way  Out. — Whether  therefore  the  work- 
ers and  the  congregation  think  of  their  own  church- 
school  plant  well  or  ill,  it  is  part  of  the  adminis- 
trator's duty  to  study  its  adaptability  to  the  best  and 
most  effective  educational  service  of  which  his  force 
can  be  made  capable.  The  limitations  that  seem  final 
to  others  must  grow  transparent  tcf  him ;  and  behind 
them  he  must  discern  and  fix,  with  steadily  increas- 
ing clearness,  the  lines  of  that  better  plan  that  is 
some  day  to  replace  them. 

How  this  vision  is  to  become  real  must  be  locally 
determined.  The  leader  may  plan  to  proceed  by 
successive  alterations.  He  may  decide  instead  to 
work  up  a  sentiment  for  radical  rebuilding.  Where 
two  or  three  churches  divide  the  Protestant  forces 
of  a  limited  field,  he  may  see  that  no  full  attainment 
of  his  vision  will  be  possible  apart  from  some  form 
of  federation,  so  that  the  movement  for  a  real  church- 
school  plant  may  become  a  community  enterprise. 
In  any  case  he  will  need  a  loyal  constituency,  to  whom 
he  may  hope  to  impart  his  vision.  The  young  folks 
at  least  will  espouse  the  cause;  and  they  will  grow 
up.  Imagination,  enthusiasm,  patience  and  capacity 
for  getting  results  under  difficulties  are  needed  in  the 


148    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATIOK 

leader  who  would  outgeneral  that  all  but  universal 
adversary,  the  almighty  wall. 

4.    How  to  Plan  a  New  Building. 

(a)  Emancipation. — The  oyster  makes  the  shell, 
not  the  shell  the  oyster.  The  building,  fixed  and 
final  as  its  walls  must  be,  should  nevertheless  be  the 
plastic  and  obedient  counterpart  of  the  living  church 
that  is  to  use  it.  But  the  school  that  has  lived  for 
years  in  a  makeshift  building  is  like  a  hermit-crab. 
Its  natural  structure  has  been  shaped  by  the  limita- 
tions which  its  borrowed  housing  has  imposed.  Be- 
fore the  leader  is  ready  to  think  out  his  new  build- 
ing, he  must  see  just  where  his  school  has  been 
pinched  and  its  proper  development  arrested  by  the 
pressure  of  the  wall. 

(b)  Inherited  Limitations. — When  the  churches, 
early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  adopted  the  Sunday 
school  and  gave  it  place  within  their  walls,  they  were 
meeting-houses,  places  of  public  worship  and  preach- 
ing, and  almost  nothing  more.  This  type  of  housing 
forced  the  Sunday  school  to  make  much  of  its  as- 
sembly and  worship  features,  instead  of  making  these 
incidental  to  classroom  work  as  in  the  public  school. 
It  took  a  long  fight  to  get  even  a  separate  room  for 
the  "  infant  class,"  and  another  for  the  "  Bible  class." 
How  much  of  our  feeling  that  the  church  school  is 
first  of  all  a  united  assembly  is  a  pure  inheritance,  a 
relic  of  our  long  bondage  to  the  meeting-house  wall? 

Obliged  to  organize  its  classes  in  the  church  pews, 
and  later  on  the  broad  floor  of  the  church  vestry  or 
prayer-meeting  room,  the  Sunday  school  soon  found 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  149 

that  there  were  fixed  limits  to  the  size  of  a  class 
taught  under  such  conditions.  The  teacher  must  sit 
near  enough  to  every  child  to  be  able  to  reach  and 
control  him,  and  must  be  able  to  make  him  hear  and 
attend  without  having  to  raise  the  voice  above  a 
conversational  tone.  Not  more  than  six  or  eight 
pupils  can  be  so  seated.  Where  a  class  grows  to  ten 
or  twelve,  either  the  pupils  or  the  teacher  will  soon 
disturb  the  adjoining  classes  and  compel  a  readjust- 
ment. For  a  hundred  years,  therefore,  our  architec- 
tural limitations  have  been  forcing  on  us  the  purely 
artificial  idea  that  whereas  in  a  public  school  forty 
pupils  can  be  handled  by  one  teacher,  in  a  Sunday 
school  forty  pupils  must  have  at  least  five  teachers. 

To  be  sure,  we  have  of  late  been  building  class- 
rooms; and  with  their  help  the  situation  has  been 
sensibly  improved.  We  have  also  introduced  movable 
chairs  in  place  of  pews  and  benches,  tables  to  cen- 
tralize class  discussion  and  facilitate  the  handling  of 
lesson  materials,  and  curtains  to  cut  off  disturbing 
sights.  Few  of  our  classrooms,  however,  represent 
careful  planning  for  the  permanent  work  of  a  partic- 
ular grade.  Some  are  primarily  clubrooms  for  or- 
ganizations that  were  strong  and  articulate  enough 
to  get  what  they  wanted.  Others  are  merely  im- 
proved and  enlarged  locations  for  main-room  classes ; 
and  their  size,  shape,  lighting,  ventilation  and  ap- 
proach leave  much  to  be  desired. 

Uniform-lesson  methods  in  the  sixties  and  seven- 
ties of  the  last  century  brought  in  the  Akron  type  of 
Sunday-school  architecture.  For  years  this  was  con- 
sidered the  last   word  in   Sunday-school   planning. 


150    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

Theater-like,  the  room  was  built  around  a  central 
platform.  In  front  were  the  main-room  classes.  To 
one  side  was  the  large  primary  room,  with  perhaps 
a  junior  room  on  the  other  side.  Back  of  the  plat- 
form, on  the  stage,  was  seating  for  an  adult  class. 
In  the  rear  and  around  the  galleries  were  the  class- 
rooms, some  square,  others  of  lozenge  shape,  all  de- 
signed first  of  all  to  enable  the  members  to  see  and 
hear  the  superintendent.  Curtains  or  movable  par- 
titions cut  these  off  more  or  less — frequently  less — 
from  the  noises  of  the  main  room.  The  passing  of 
uniformity  has  made  these  buildings  nearly  as  out 
of  date  as  the  old  Puritan  meeting-houses  that  pre- 
ceded them;  but  in  these  forms  and  patterns  of  con- 
struction many  of  our  local  church  leaders  will  be 
found  thinking  to-day. 

(c)  The  Starting-Point. — The  authority  of  ex- 
perts, as  voiced  in  books  on  Sunday-school  architec- 
ture, will  help  the  leader  in  his  planning,  but  is  mani- 
festly a  guide  to  be  used  with  caution;  since  these 
inherited  forms  of  thinking  may  colour  even  the 
expert's  recommendations.  To  visit  "  model  Sun- 
day-school buildings  "  is  equally  unsafe,  except  for 
suggestions  in  detail.  Obviously,  no  ready-made  plan 
will  exactly  fit  the  special  needs  of  the  leader's  situ- 
ation. After  all,  it  is  the  oyster  we  need  to  vision, 
rather  than  the  shell.  What  sort  of  school  may  our 
school  be,  when  we  can  hold  it  in  a  building  made 
to  fit  its  real  and  not  merely  its  inherited  needs? 
When  the  intricacies  of  that  question  have  been  an- 
swered, the  form  of  the  building  will  be  relatively 
easy  to  determine.     In  any  plan  for  complete  re- 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  151 

building,  there  can  be  no  effective  starting-point 
short  of  a  thorough  reconstruction  of  the  entire 
church-school  plan. 

5.     General  Principles. 

(a)  Unity. — Our  plant  must  be  planned  to  serve 
the  church  and  parish  as  a  whole.  From  the  cele- 
bration of  the  communion  down,  every  feature  of 
the  church's  work  has  its  contribution  to  make  to  the 
religious  education  of  each  individual.  That  educa- 
tion should  be  unified,  each  part  related  to  the  others 
and  all  combining  into  a  harmonious  whole  as  to 
every  child,  youth  and  man.  We  cannot  therefore 
think  out  our  school  organization  and  its  building 
without  consideration  of  the  church  in  its  entirety. 

{h)  Efficiency. — For  each  service  that  a  given 
room  or  appliance  is  to  render,  it  must  be  made 
efficient  for  that  service.  The  floor,  shape,  lighting, 
approach  and  other  features  of  a  room,  with  every 
fixed  appliance,  must  be  worked  out  from  the  view- 
point of  what  is  to  be  done  in  that  room.  All  possible 
advice  and  experience  must  be  gathered  as  to  this, 
from  experts  and  from  those  locally  interested. 
Against  this  principle  the  old  Akron  type  sinned,  in 
its  habitual  robbing  of  class  and  department  rooms  of 
half  their  efficiency  in  order  to  make  them  parts  of 
a  larger  room.  Architecturally,  also,  efficiency  is 
often  sacrificed  to  the  requirements  of  a  Gothic  or 
other  special  style  of  construction,  whose  claims  are 
indeed  worthy,  but  should  come  in  after  those  of 
efficiency  in  use. 

(c)  Economy,  also,  must  be  studied,  no  less  than 


152    CHUKCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

efficiency  for  each  service.  This  calls  for  considera- 
tion of  the  load-factor.  What  figure  will  represent 
the  week's  use  of  a  given  room  or  appliance,  as  com- 
pared with  one  hundred  if  it  were  in  use  for  every 
available  hour  of  working  time?  If  the  church  plant 
might  conceivably  be  used  seven  hours  a  day  on 
week-days  and  eight  hours  on  Sunday,  that  gives  us 
one  hundred  half-hours  as  the  units  of  our  weekly 
scale.  On  this  convenient  basis  let  the  leader  note 
the  load-factor  of  his  present  church  auditorium  and 
other  rooms.  The  figures  will  make  a  suggestive 
study. 

Obviously,  the  way  to  cut  building  costs  on  any 
kind  of  plant  is  to  increase  the  load-factor.  In  a 
church  this  can  be  done  by  ingenious  adaptations  of 
the  same  room  to  two  or  more  purposes.  Many 
such  adaptations  are  already  familiar;  and  with 
broadened  plans  we  shall  doubtless  find  ways  of  mak- 
ing many  more.  But  no  such  economy  should  be  at 
the  cost  of  educational  efficiency  in  any  one  of  the 
uses  so  combined;  nor  should  the  proposed  shifts 
and  changes  entail  loss  of  time  and  a  heavy  load  of 
weekly  labour. 

(d)  Suggestion. — The  general  effect  of  the  plant 
on  the  observer  should  be  in  line  with  the  purposes 
of  its  creation.  Externally,  in  site,  grounds  and 
architectural  appearance,  the  church  should  harmo- 
nize with  its  situation  and  convey  an  appropriate  im- 
pression of  dignity,  force  and  spiritual  leadership. 
The  interior  of  every  room  and  lobby  should  suggest 
the  emotions  and  responses  proper  to  the  worship 
and  other  activities  therein  to  be  carried  on.    Rever- 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  153 

ence  is  caught,  not  taught;  and  the  unconscious  tui- 
tion of  well-planned  rooms  and  approaches  is  a  factor 
in  the  educational  efficiency  of  the  church-school 
plant. 

6.    Provision  for  New  Features. 

These  general  principles  clear,  we  must  next  in- 
quire what  new  features  in  the  development  of  local 
and  community  religious  education  must  be  taken 
account  of,  if  our  proposed  plant  is  to  be  built  in 
full  alignment  with  twentieth  century  progress. 

(a)  Community  Responsibility. — The  church  of 
to-morrow  will  realize  its  responsibility  to  serve  the 
community  which  remits  its  taxes  and  counts  on  its 
service  in  raising  moral  standards  and  adding  to  the 
community's  educational  system  the  element  of  in- 
struction in  religion.  Whether  or  not  a  "  community 
church  "  in  the  sense  of  being  free  from  denomina- 
tional competition,  the  church  must  pay  its  com- 
munity debt  of  service  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men.  Without  the  least  abatement  of  its  gospel  of 
salvation,  and  without  lowering  its  fellowship  service 
to  its  own  members,  old  and  young,  the  church  of  to- 
morrow will  provide  rooms  for  service  to  some  of 
the  less  fortunate  groups  of  its  surrounding  society. 
The  liquor  saloon,  of  unwept  memory,  frequently 
found  a  room  and  a  welcome  for  the  labour  group 
that  had  no  other  place  of  common  meeting.  Shall 
the  church  of  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth  be  less 
hospitable  in  its  social  planning? 

{h)  Professional  Service. — The  unmistakable  trend 
of  the  times  in  religious  education  is  toward  a  wider 


164    CHUECH-8CHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

use  of  professional  service.  Long  before  the  church- 
school  plant  erected  to-day  has  repaid  its  cost  and 
finished  its  work,  professional  directors  of  religious 
education  will  be  common,  and  professional  teachers 
of  religion  will  occupy  on  whole  or  part-time  salary 
many  of  our  principalships  and  teaching  chairs. 
Such  workers  will  refuse  to  waste  time  with  the 
facilities  we  now  contentedly  offer  our  faithful 
amateur  band;  and  the  church  will  refuse  to  waste 
money  on  maintaining  them  in  such  a  situation.  Not 
all  teachers  will  be  paid,  by  any  means;  nor  will 
the  paid  teacher  in  every  case  do  finer  work  than  the 
unpaid  one.  But  room  and  equipment  for  some 
professional  workers  must  be  built  into  our  new 
plant,  or  we  may  live  to  see  it  prematurely  out- 
grown. 

(c)  Week-day  Instruction. — Equally  certain  is  the 
early  incoming  of  week-day  instruction  in  religion. 
Many  and  complex  as  are  the  difficulties  that  still 
bind  us  to  one  hour  a  week  on  Sunday,  these  dif- 
ficulties are  already  being  successfully  overcome. 
Each  year  adds  to  our  experience  and  tends  to 
standardize  and  improve  our  methods.  The  Ameri- 
can system  of  education  in  religion,  correlative  with 
but  independent  of  the  American  public  school  sys- 
tem, is  coming  in.  Buildings  and  rooms  will  be  in- 
creasingly needed  for  the  week-day  teaching  of  re- 
ligion, for  our  own  and  other  children.  Classrooms, 
assemblies,  playgrounds,  health  and  recreation  facili- 
ties adapted  to  regular  use  on  several  days  of  the 
week  by  large  classes  under  professional  teachers 
of  religion  will  in  a  few  years  be  called  for.     A 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  155 

church  ambitious  to  take  and  keep  the  lead  in  serv- 
ice will  build  with  these  uses  kept  well  in  view, 

(d)  Visualisation. — In  lantern  slides,  motion  pic- 
tures and  other  forms  of  visual  teaching,  what  new 
resources  may  come  to  our  aid  within  the  next  few 
years  we  cannot  tell.  Those  already  at  our  disposal 
are  ample  to  warrant  the  modern  church  in  equip- 
ping its  plant  for  visual  instruction  in  every  possible 
form.  In  some  of  the  classrooms,  if  not  in  all,  lan- 
tern facilities  should,  be  provided,  with  a  full  motion 
picture  equipment  in  the  main  social  hall.  The 
screens,  lighting  switches,  signals  and  window-dark- 
ening facilities,  also,  should  be  so  arranged  that 
transition  to  and  from  visual  instruction  can  be  made 
simply,  quietly  and  without  delay. 

(e)  Play  and  Recreation. — Along  with  the  Puritan 
meeting-house  we  inherited  the  Puritan  mental  as- 
sociation of  all  sports,  games  and  recreations,  espe- 
cially the  theater,  with  evil.  From  this  association 
our  minds  are  still  far  from  free.  Our  Lord,  with 
His  inspired  educational  psychology,  saw  in  the  chil- 
dren's happy  street  dramatism  of  marriage  dance 
and  funeral  wailing,  in  the  social  feast,  and  even  in 
the  seven-days'  wedding  jollification,  means  of  re- 
ligious education.  Even  so  the  great  lawgiver  of 
earlier  days  had  seen  in  the  ancient  tribal  feasts  and 
picnics  of  springtime  and  harvest-home  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  religious  teacher.  The  time  has  come  to 
build  not  in  prejudice  but  in  wisdom. 

When  the  church  is  ready  to  serve  the  whole  life 
of  its  young  people,  it  will  have  the  right  to  their 
whole  allegiance,  and  not  before.     So  long  as  it  in- 


156    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

sists  on  ministering  only  to  that  side  of  their  natures 
with  which  its  gospel  message  is  primarily  concerned, 
it  will  continue  to  get  from  them  a  partial,  casual 
and  exceptional  response.  Social  amusement  is  part 
of  the  serious  life-business  of  normal  youth.  Studies, 
employment,  household  duties,  church  work — these 
have  their  place;  but  real  life  for  us  young  folks  is 
what  we  do  in  our  marginal  hours.  Into  the  enter- 
prises of  these  hours  we  put  our  whole  selves ;  be- 
cause through  them  we  are  enabled  to  mingle  with 
our  fellows  in  the  unceasing  quest  of  our  hearts  for 
true  friends  and  worthy  competitors  in  one  sex  and 
a  life-partner  in  the  other. 

For  the  children's  play  and  the  games  of  the  boys 
and  girls  some  architectural  provision  must  be  made ; 
though  most  of  their  needs  can  better  be  met  by  the 
homes,  the  school  and  the  community.  It  is  for  the 
young  people  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  that  the 
church  needs  especially  to  build.  What  business  does 
for  profit  the  church  must  do  for  love.  It  must  re- 
member that  its  young  people  want  to  do  rather  than 
to  be  done  for;  and  its  facilities,  instead  of  furnish- 
ing amusement  ready-made,  must  be  so  shaped  as  to 
make  it  easy  for  groups  of  young  people  to  organ- 
ize, conduct  and  carry  to  completion  their  varied 
projects  of  amusement,  dramatism  and  altruistic  en- 
terprise. Where  a  church  keeps  up  its  heart-preach- 
ing and  its  evangelistic  endeavour  and  at  the  same 
time  gives  its  young  people  facilities  for  making  its 
rooms  their  social  home,  it  may  hope  to  retain  their 
allegiance  and  bring  them  through  "the  slippery 
paths  of  youth  "  to  a  rounded  maturity  of  loyal  and 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  157 

well-trained  readiness  for  a  wide  range  of  Christian 
service. 

7.    Realization. 

(a)  Working  Out  the  Ideal. — Putting  together 
these  critical  and  constructive  suggestions,  with  all 
others  available,  the  leader  or  group  of  local  leaders 
will  steadily  work  out  what  their  projected  new 
church  plant  ought  to  be.  Many  conferences  may 
be  held,  at  which  divergent  views  will  be  compared 
and  special  studies  and  visits  reported.  Step  by  step 
needs  will  grow  clearer,  plans  more  comprehensive, 
courage  more  audacious  and  hope  more  sure.  The 
less  likelihood  now  of  a  new  building,  the  better  the 
chance  for  a  quiet  and  unhurried  study  of  the  fun- 
damentals of  the  situation.  A  specific  group  should 
be  organized  for  the  unofficial  study  of  the  architec- 
tural problem,  with  the  understanding  that  its  full  so- 
lution may  be  a  work  of  years. 

(h)  Winning  a  Verdict. — A  necessary  part  of  this 
group's  duty,  first  for  themselves  and  then  for  the 
whole  church  and  community,  is  to  win  against  the 
present  plant  a  verdict  of  condemnation.  No  move- 
ment for  rebuilding  can  start  until  the  people  are 
dislodged  from  their  complacency.  Destructive  criti- 
cism is  in  itself  unlovely  and  by  itself  unprofitable; 
but  in  every  constructive  process  it  must  play  an  im- 
portant part. 

The  weakness  of  such  a  case  is  usually  its  sub- 
jectivity. The  leader  knows  w^hy  he  wants  better 
rooms,  but  he  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  putting  his 
criticisms  into  objective  form.     The  people  know 


168    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

them  simply  as  his  feelings.  The  group  understands 
why  he  so  feels,  and  they  are  beginning  to  feel  with 
him;  but  others  are  reacting  in  the  opposite  way. 
"  This  building  is  a  disgrace,"  say  the  progressives ; 
and  back  comes  the  reply,  "  We  love  it;  touch  not  a 
single  stone ! "  If  we  could  measure  the  building 
with  an  educational  yardstick  and  show  exactly 
where  and  how  far  it  falls  short  of  being  what  the 
church  needs,  we  should  still  need  to  do  much  mis- 
sionary work  with  the  conservative  element;  but  we 
should  have  freed  our  arguments  from  the  charge 
that  they  were  merely  a  personal  opinion  or  a  fad. 

(c)  Specifications,  Not  Plans. — As  the  studies  of 
the  group  advance,  the  tendency  will  be  strong  to 
draw  sketches  of  the  new  building  and  its  rooms. 
A  limited  amount  of  this  sketching  will  help  the 
committee  in  its  conferences;  but  the  attempt  should 
not  be  made  to  formulate  final  conclusions  in  this 
way.  No  amateur  architect  is  likely  to  draw  a  floor 
plan  that  will  take  proper  account  of  elevations, 
standard  lengths  and  stock  sizes  and  other  necessaiy 
technical  details.  Where  such  a  plan  is  submitted 
to  an  architect  it  tempts  him  to  flatter  and  please  his 
clients  by  embodying  their  crude  notions  in  his  own 
plan,  though  he  may  see  other  and  better  ways  of 
reaching  the  results  they  desire. 

Specifications,  therefore,  rather  than  plans,  should 
be  the  outcome  of  the  committee's  study.  Let  each 
member,  after  agreement  on  general  objectives,  draft 
by  himself  a  detailed  statement  of  what  he  wants  to 
see  embodied  in  the  new  building.  If  he  is  con- 
cerned as  to  the  size  of  a  room^  let  him  specify  what 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  169 

he  thinks  its  dimensions  should  be.  If  he  has  seen  a 
useful  built-in  device,  or  has  thought  of  an  eco- 
nomical adaptation  of  one  room  to  two  uses,  let  him 
set  down  his  ideas  in  shape  for  committee  consider- 
ation and  action.  Then  let  the  various  papers  be 
studied  together,  with  a  joint  set  of  "  owner's  speci- 
fications "  as  the  result. 

The  committee  may  now  proceed,  if  it  will,  to  con- 
sultation with  an  architect;  it  being  stipulated  that 
this  action  is  preliminary,  obligates  only  those  in- 
dividuals who  seek  the  architect's  advice  and  en- 
tails no  lien  on  the  freedom  of  the  church  in  any 
plans  it  may  later  make  for  actual  building.  With 
the  specifications  to  guide  him,  a  competent  architect 
can  easily  draft  a  set  of  sketches  embodying  the 
committee's  wishes  in  the  best  possible  form. 

Before  such  consultation,  however,  it  will  be 
manifest  wisdom  for  any  such  group  to  meet  with 
the  trustees  and  other  authorities  of  the  church  for 
a  frank  and  full  talking  over  of  the  project  and  all 
its  implications.  It  should  be  made  clear  that  the 
objective  is  not  now  a  new  church  but  simply  a  clear 
vision  of  what  a  new  church  should  be  in  order  to 
serve  well  the  needs  of  religious  education.  Every 
possible  convert  among  the  powers  that  be  is  so 
much  gained  toward  the  real  start  of  the  campaign. 

(d)  Estimates  and  Adjustments. — Sketch-plans,  on 
a  scale  of  one-eighth  of  an  inch  to  a  foot,  can  be 
prepared  at  small  expense  and  without  responsibility 
for  a  later  percentage  on  cost,  if  arrangements  are 
so  made.  While  contractors*  estimates  cannot  be 
secured  on  these  in  any  but  the  roughest  form,  the 


160    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMIKLSTRATION 

sketches  will  do  very  well  as  a  basis  for  enlarged 
public  discussion  and  consideration  of  economies  and 
adjustments.  Of  these  there  will  necessarily  be 
many.  Every  combination  that  increases  the  load- 
factor  and  makes  the  plant  useful  to  more  people 
and  at  more  hours  per  week  diminishes  the  total 
expense  for  covering  all  these  uses  and  either  hastens 
the  day  of  moving  in,  or  releases  part  of  the  cost 
for  investment  in  the  reaching  of  some  additional 
need,  or  by  cutting  the  total  cost  brings  in  new 
supporters  who  would  oppose  a  larger  expenditure. 
The  outcome  of  this  discussion  campaign  may 
come  soon,  or  it  may  take  years  to  mature  in  action. 
Enthusiasm,  however,  is  catching,  especially  when 
based  on  a  case  made  clear.  If  the  group  has  gone 
well  over  the  ground  of  its  problem  and  can  stand 
firmly  on  the  educational  need  for  every  one  of  its 
claims,  recruits  will  flock  to  its  standard;  and  the 
time  to  sound  the  call  for  advance  on  "  the  almighty 
wall "  of  old  restrictions  will  come  betimes. 


8.    An  Available  Building  Standard. 

(a)  Origin. — Through  the  work  of  the  Inter- 
church  World  Movement  the  "  educational  yard- 
stick"  called  for  in  Section  7&,  above,  has  been 
made  at  least  partially  available.  As  part  of  that 
movement's  American  Survey  of  Religious  Educa- 
tion, conducted  under  the  direction  of  Professor 
Walter  S.  Atheam,  a  thousand-point  standard  for  a 
city  church  plant  was  worked  out  by  a  group  of  edu- 
cational and  architectural  authorities  and  prepared 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  161 

for  use  in  the  exact  objective  rating  of  any  existing 
city  or  village  church  plant.  A  like  standard  for  the 
measurement  of  rural  church  plants  was  likewise 
projected  but  not  finished  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
movement. 

Not  only  was  this  standard  published  in  convenient 
form/  but  it  was  applied  by  its  authors  in  a  sys- 
tematic survey  of  the  seventeen  existing  churches, 
large  and  small,  in  a  typical  American  small  city; 
and  their  findings,  with  numerous  illustrations  and 
comments  and  a  reprint  of  the  standard  and  its  speci- 
fications, was  also  published  in  a  volume  *  which,  with 
the  standard,  is  now  available  for  the  guidance  of 
such  a  group  as  we  have  imagined  at  work  on  its 
own  local  vision.  Here  is  the  yardstick  for  measur- 
ing every  defect  and  excellence  in  the  building  we 
now  have,  and  with  it  the  material  for  the  construc- 
tion of  our  dream  of  what  we  ought  to  have.  The 
issuance  of  these  two  manuals  should  mark  an  era 
in  the  architectural  history  of  the  American  churches. 

(b)  Form. — Of  the  thousand  points  that  would  be 
«cored  by  a  perfect  plant  for  church  life  and  religious 
education  under  city  conditions,  with  building  laws, 
materials,  inventions  and  educational  apparatus  as 
they  stood  in  1920,  the  Interchurch  standard  makes 
this  allotment: 

I.    Site  130 

Location  55 

Nature  and  condition 30 

Size  and  form 45 

*  Standards  for  City  Church  Plante. 
"The  Maiden  Survey. 


162    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATIOK 

II.     Building  or  buildings 150 

Placement    20 

Gross  structure 80 

Internal  structure 50 

III.  Service  systems 160 

Heating  and  ventilation 40 

Fire  protection  system 40 

Cleaning  system 10 

Artificial  lighting  system 15 

Water  supply  system 15  * 

Toilet  system 25 

Other  service  systems 10 

Service  rooms 5 

IV.  Church  rooms 170 

Convenience  of  arrangement 20 

Auditorium   100 

Chapel  or  small  assembly 15 

Parlor  and  church  board  room 5 

Church  office 10 

Pastor's  study 15 

Church  vault 5 

V.     Religious  schoolrooms 200 

Location  and  connection 15 

Assembly  room 60 

Classrooms 90 

Cloak-rooms  and  wardrobes 15 

Superintendent's  office 10 

Supply  rooms 10 

VI.     Community  service  rooms 190 

Rooms  for  general  use 60 

Rooms  for  social  service 70 

Recreation  and  athletic  rooms 60 

Under  these  subheads  there  are  also  specified  more 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  163 

than  a  hundred  points  of  detail,  to  each  of  which  is 
assigned  a  standard  rating.  The  accompanying 
specifications  discuss  each  point  in  turn,  indicating 
what  constitutes  standard  construction  or  equipment 
and  what  alternative  materials  or  arrangements  are 
available.  On  fireproof  construction  and  fire  safety, 
heating  and  ventilation,  and  the  different  sizes  of  pipe 
organs,  the  specifications  are  particularly  full  and 
clear. 

The  important  item  of  illumination,  in  which  so 
many  of  our  so-called  schoolrooms  in  church  build- 
ings so  seriously  fail,  is  reduced  to  measurement  by 
the  use  of  the  foot-candle  unit.  A  foot-candle  is  the 
light  cast  by  a  standard  candle  at  the  distance  of  one 
foot.  Every  seat  in  church,  assembly  rooms  and 
classrooms  should  furnish  at  least  three  foot-candles 
of  natural  light  for  the  occupant's  use.  Many  like 
items  are  covered  in  this  exact  and  practical  way. 

(c)  Mode  of  Application. — Application  of  the 
standard  to  the  rating  of  an  existing  plant,  if  made 
by  an  interested  and  untrained  individual,  will  be 
simply  a  personal  judgment  with  little  power  to  con- 
vince. A  right  application  is  laborious;  but  the  re- 
sults are  well  worth  while. 

A  committee  of  judges  should  be  chosen,  repre- 
senting the  various  sides  and  viewpoints  concerned. 
To  these  should  be  added  a  school  principal  or  other 
educational  expert  and  an  architect  or  builder.  If  it 
can  be  planned  to  make  a  comparative  survey  of  all 
the  plants  in  a  town  or  other  community  unit,  results 
will  be  much  more  satisfactory;  because  the  team 
will  learn  the  art  of  quickly  reaching  a  just  decision 


164    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

on  one  point  after  another,  and  the  outcome  will  be 
an  educational  stirring  up  of  community  opinion. 
The  team  must  give  time  to  the  work,  visiting  each 
plant  together,  and  each  man  checking  his  rating  of 
the  various  points  on  his  own  score-card  independ- 
ently. One  of  the  team,  then  or  at  another  time, 
will  gather  the  local  information  called  for  in  the 
survey  blank.  After  thus  inspecting  one  or  more 
plants,  the  team  should  hold  a  session  for  report, 
discussion  and  settlement  of  the  joint  score  as  to  the 
plant  concerned.  This  was  the  process  followed  in 
scoring  the  churches  of  Maiden. 


9.     A  Glimpse  of  the  Vision. 

In  conformity  with  the  positions  of  the  Inter- 
church  standard,  and  in  the  light  of  the  principles 
and  suggestions  of  this  chapter,  can  we  now  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  church  plant  of  to-morrow,  as  the 
church  of  to-morrow  will  demand  that  it  shall  be? 

An  ample  and  well-placed  site  is  needed  first  of 
all.  The  church  of  to-morrow  will  use  its  out-of- 
doors  and  will  fight  the  limitations  of  noise,  shadowed 
windows  and  nearness  to  sources  of  foulness  and 
fire.  If  a  generous  campus  cannot  be  had  in  the 
heart  of  the  city,  then  auxiliary  grounds,  easy  of 
access,  will  be  provided  for  recreation  and  other  uses. 
On  the  site  the  buildings  will  be  so  placed  as  to  make 
the  effect  harmonious,  impressive  and  uplifting. 

Two  main  halls,  one  for  worship,  the  other  for 
social  and  educational  assembly,  will  appear;  each 
capable  of  seating  the  full  congregation,  and  each 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  166 

built,  adorned  and  equipped  in  line  with  the  finest 
ideals  of  the  life  it  is  to  foster  and  train.  The  social 
hall  must  be  available  for  lectures,  concerts,  choruses, 
dramatism,  pageantry  and  visualization,  while  the 
church  must  suggest  worship,  reverence  and  the  pres- 
ence of  God  and  must  fit  the  needs  of  minister,  wor- 
shipers, communicants,  candidates  for  baptism,  or- 
ganist and  choir.  If  without  sacrifice  of  these  ideals 
it  is  found  practicable  to  make  one  hall  serve  these 
two  purposes,  the  general  load-factor  of  the  whole 
plant  will  be  substantially  lifted  and  the  cost  cor- 
respondingly decreased.  But  the  difficulties  of  mak- 
ing this  combination  have  not  yet  been  successfully 
overcome. 

On  special  occasions  the  church  school  will  use  the 
social  hall  as  its  place  of  united  assembly.  There 
will  be  separate  assembly  rooms  for  the  beginners', 
primary  and  junior  departments,  with  classrooms  for 
the  cradle  roll  class  of  three-year-olds  and  for  the 
graded  classes  of  the  junior  department.  Each  of 
these  junior  classrooms  will  be  planned  to  seat  thirty 
children  under  good  school  conditions,  with  chairs, 
tables  and  separating  devices  for  smaller  classes  while 
it  is  necessary  so  to  divide.  The  upper-grade  classes 
will  each  have  its  well-planned  classroom ;  and  there 
will  be  an  intermediate  and  senior  assembly  room, 
possibly  divisible  into  two,  which  might  also  serve 
as  chapel  for  the  mid-week  church  service  and  other 
smaller  assemblies.  Rooms  of  adequate  size  for  the 
adult  classes  and  for  the  training  class  and  other 
classes  of  the  young  people's  department  will  also  be 
provided. 


166    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

Work  in  each  of  these  schoolrooms  will  be  given 
full  time  and  freedom  from  distraction.  This  will 
be  architecturally  encouraged  by  wide  lobbies,  easy 
stairs  and  landings  and  convenient  approaches  from 
the  assembly  rooms;  by  solid  walls  wherever  prac- 
ticable; by  access  from  pupils'  rear;  by  standard 
lighting,  heating,  ventilation,  bells  and  signals;  by 
cloak-rooms  and  toilets  to  insure  comfort  and  con- 
venience for  all  ages  and  in  all  weathers;  and  by  a 
well-planned  service  and  cleaning  equipment  to  en- 
courage a  maximum  of  good  condition  at  a  minimum 
of  labour  and  expense. 

Equally  careful  provision  will  be  made  for  the 
auxiliary  and  overhead  functions.  The  library,  ex- 
hibit and  supply  services  will  be  adequately  and  cen- 
trally housed.  Secretaries,  treasurers,  supervisors 
and  other  special  workers  will  have  desks,  cabinets 
and  filing  space,  with  guards  against  intrusion  and 
facilities  for  dealing  with  those  they  serve.  The 
principals  of  departments  will  have  desks,  book 
shelving  and  other  facilities  for  good  educational 
administration.  The  pastor  will  have  his  study,  the 
chorister  his  music  room,  the  church  secretary  an 
office  equipped  for  duplicating,  mailing,  carding  and 
bulletin  work,  and  the  educational  executive — direc- 
tor and  superintendent — an  office  and  study  worthy 
of  their  joint  responsibility.  The  building  in  short 
will  make  for  division  of  function,  that  every  worker 
in  every  place  may  be  free  at  all  times  to  give  of 
his  best. 

Bodies  will  be  served  by  this  building  as  well  as 
souls. 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  167 

"  Let  us  not  always  say 
*  Spite  of  this  flesh  to-day 
I  strove,  made  head,  gained  ground  upon  the 
whole ! ' 

As  the  bird  wings  and  sings. 
Let  us  cry  '  All  good  things 
Are  ours,  nor  soul  helps  flesh  more,  now,  than 
flesh  helps  soul ! '  " 

Safety  from  the  tragedy  of  fire  will  be  studied  in 
walls,  floors,  stairs,  doorways,  storage,  wiring  and 
approaches.  Cleanliness  and  sanitation  will  be 
thought  of,  freedom  from  eye-strain,  dust  and 
odours,  fresh  and  warm  air,  encouragement  to 
healthy  and  fascinating  sports  like  bowling  and 
tennis,  that  the  sexes  can  enjoy  together  and  that 
may  satisfy  in  part  the  craving  of  youth  for  the 
perilous  dance.  Full  gymnasium  equipment,  with 
basket-ball  and  swimming  facilities,  will  be  provided 
when  the  way  is  clear  to  a  non-competitive  com- 
munity relationship,  and  when  a  continuous,  com- 
petent and  spiritually  trustworthy  leadership  can  be 
assured. 

The  plant  will  facilitate  the  church's  relationship 
of  hospitality  to  the  community.  Not  primarily  as 
feeders  to  its  own  membership  and  welfare,  but 
rather  as  its  ministry  to  need,  rooms  will  be  dedi- 
cated by  the  church  to  mothers  and  babies,  employed 
boys  and  girls,  workingmen,  readers,  new  Americans 
and  other  special  classes  in  the  community  served. 
When  the  church,  forgetting  its  self-interest  and 
catching  the  full  spirit  of  its  Master,  builds  thus  to 
serve,  the  answering  love,  gifts  and  devotion  will  in 
due  time  vindicate  its  leaders'  faith. 


168    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

Every  great  building  embodies  and  visualizes  a 
great  idea.  The  formative  and  unifying  idea  of  this 
building  will  be  aspiration.  That  life  is  more  than 
meat,  that  service  is  better  than  gain,  that  the  on- 
coming generation  must  distance  their  fathers  in 
religion  no  less  than  in  culture  and  comfort,  progress 
and  speed,  that  the  world  shall  be  more  brotherly, 
that  earth  shall  grow  nearer  to  heaven,  and  that 
Christ  shall  have  a  temple  fit  for  His  ministry  to  men 
and  His  communion  with  the  Father, — such  is  the 
message  that  our  building  and  its  equipment  will 
carry  to  the  sons  of  men. 

Assignments 

1.  Why  begin  work  with  rooms  as  they  are? 

2.  Why  not  so  continue  ? 

3a.  Illustrate  from  experience,  if  you  can,  the 
limitations  of  current  church-school  housing. 

3b.  What  gain  comes  by  making  alterations? 
What  loss  ? 

4b.  ( I )  How  has  architecture  caused  us  to  make 
much  of  our  school's  "  opening  exercises  "  ?  (2) 
How  has  it  limited  the  size  of  our  classes  ? 

4c.  What  must  the  leader  plan  before  he  can 
wisely  plan  his  new  building? 

5a.     What  will  his  plant  include? 

5b.  What  must  be  his  requirement  as  to  each  part 
of  this  plant? 

5c.  (i)  What  is  meant  by  the  load- factor?  (2) 
On  a  scale  of  100  half-hours  a  week,  what  is  the  load- 
factor  of  your  church  auditorium?  (3).  What  is 
the  average  load-factor  of  all  the  rooms?     (4)  What 


BUILDING  AND  EQUIPMENT  169 

gain  in  raising  the  load-factor?     (5)  What  possible 
loss? 

5d.  How  might  the  plant  be  efficient  as  to  every 
part  and  yet  fail  as  a  whole  ? 

6.  Mention  and  briefly  explain  some  of  the  new 
features  that  a  modern  church-school  plant  should 
provide  for. 

7a.  How  should  the  leader,  having  begun  to  get 
his  vision  of  the  new  plant,  start  the  work  of  making 
it  a  reality? 

7b.     What  case  must  he  prove  ? 

7c.  (i)  Why  not  start  to  draw  plans?  (2)  What 
would  be  a  better  way?  (3)  What  consultations 
should  be  had  ? 

7d.  How  may  the  people  be  interested  and  their 
help  secured? 

8a.  What  standard  for  church-plant  measurement 
is  now  available  ? 

8b.     How  is  it  arranged? 

8c.  (i)  How  should  it  be  applied?  (2)  Of  what 
help  would  it  be  to  a  committee  working  out  a  new 
plan? 

9.  (i)  With  special  reference  to  your  own  field, 
note  those  points  of  the  "  vision  "  that  you  count  su- 
perfluous or  unwise.  (2)  Which  points  seem  espe- 
cially desirable?     (3)  What  would  you  add? 


VIII 
TRAINING  FOR  LEADERSHIP  SERVICE 

1.  The  Master  Task. 

High  and  exacting  is  every  one  of  the  tasks  that 
make  up  the  responsibihty  of  the  church-school  ad- 
ministrator. But  when  we  take  the  school  as  a  per- 
manent institution,  and  think  of  its  possible  service 
and  its  inevitable  needs  for  the  years  ahead,  one  ad- 
ministrative duty  stands  out  as  chief  of  all.  The 
leader  must  train  his  workers  and  his  oncoming  ca- 
dets for  the  continuance,  enlargement  and  improve- 
ment of  all  that  is  now  being  done.  It  is  great  to 
labour  well  to-day.  It  is  greater  to  insure  that  better 
work  shall  be  done  by  those  that  enter  into  our  la- 
bours. The  administrator's  master  task  is  training 
for  leadership  service  in  the  church  school. 

2.  The  Size  of  the  Need. 

Provision  must  certainly  be  made  for  training  "both 
the  present  force  of  officers  and  teachers  and  those 
who  will  be  needed  as  their  successors.  What  pro- 
vision? How  large  is  the  need  which  the  training 
service  of  the  church  school  must  arrange  to  fill  ? 

(a)  Vacancies  and  Losses. — It  is  exhilarating  to 
open  the  session  of  a  well-organized  church  school, 
every  class  with  its  earnest  teacher  and  every  office 

170 


TEAINING  FOR  LEADEESHIP  171 

with  its  working  officer.  But  one  year's  life  in  most 
of  our  American  communities  will  see  a  fourth,  a 
third  or  even  a  half  of  these  places  either  vacant  or 
filled  with  a  newly  found  worker.  And  when  we  or- 
ganize our  training  class  of  teacher-candidates,  how 
many  of  those  who  enrol  and  start  with  the  class  will 
drop  out  before  graduation  or  fail  for  any  one  of 
many  reasons  to  report  for  assignment  ? 

(&)  General  Progress. — But  during  this  same 
year  of  recruiting,  the  educational  world  has  gone 
forward.  Higher  ideals  have  been  visioned,  stand- 
ards of  service  raised.  The  pupils  have  advanced  in 
their  expectations.  The  community  life  has  ad- 
vanced in  the  calls  it  makes  on  our  graduates  for 
service,  and  also  in  the  variety  and  insidiousness  of 
its  temptations  to  evil.  We  must  be  doing  better 
work  than  a  year  ago,  or  we  are  losing  ground. 

(c)  Overtaking  the  Deficit. — Nor  are  our  Sunday 
schools  yet  doing  their  allotted  share  of  the  com- 
munity's task  of  education  in  religion.  Every  can- 
vass shows  a  large  percentage  of  the  Protestant  chil- 
dren of  school  age,  to  say  nothing  of  the  adults,  out- 
side the  church  school.  We  can  reform  this  situa- 
tion only  by  gaining  ground  steadily  from  year  to 
year.  The  only  effective  way  to  make  inroads  on  the 
mass  of  the  unreached  is  to  make  new  places  in  our 
working  force  and  then  go  after  the  outsiders.  This 
means  still  another  call  for  new  workers. 

(d)  Completing  the  Course. — One  period  a  week, 
whether  taken  at  the  regular  church-school  hour  or 
on  a  night  of  the  week,  is  all  the  training  time  we  are 
usually  able  to  command;  and  in  most  fields  forty 


172    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

weeks  is  the  limit  of  a  possible  training-course  year. 
It  is  the  judgment  of  our  leaders  that  120  lessons  is 
the  least  number  required  to  cover  the  instruction 
that  every  church-school  worker  should  receive.  If 
then  we  can  fix  the  number  of  candidates  whom  we 
should  enrol  each  year,  in  order  to  be  ready  to  fill 
every  vacancy  and  keep  the  average  quality  of  the 
work  improving,  we  must  multiply  this  by  three  to 
provide  for  the  three  years  of  the  standard  training 
course. 

(e)  A  Going  School — In  the  light  of  these  obvi- 
ous and  inescapable  needs,  how  can  we  longer  depend 
on  past  customs  and  limits  of  investment  and  effort 
to  provide  us  with  an  adequate  system  of  leadership 
training?  And  until  we  are  so  provided,  can  we 
properly  call  our  school  "  a  going  concern "  ?  In 
many  sections  the  Sunday  schools  are  showing  signs 
of  spiritual  and  educational  anaemia.  They  barely 
hold  their  own.  They  dare  not  adopt  aggressive 
modern  methods,  for  lack  of  leaders  among  their 
number.  In  the  rural  districts  they  frequently,  on 
slight  provocation,  give  up  the  struggle  and  cease  to 
meet.  Need  we  look  further  for  the  reason  ?  In  the 
day  of  their  apparent  prosperity  they  neglected  to 
provide  for  their  own  perpetuation  and  increase. 
Now  they  are  paying  the  penalty ;  and  the  children 
are  bearing  the  first  of  the  long  train  of  losses  that 
come  with  the  breakdown  in  the  processes  of  relig- 
ious education. 

What  system  of  training,  then,  will  make  a  pres- 
ently successful  church  school  reasonably  sure  of  its 
future  ? 


TRAINING  FOR  LEADERSHIP  173 

3.     Undergraduate  Training. 

(a)  From  the  Beginning. — The  whole  curriculum 
should  be  developed  with  a  view  to  the  place  it  will 
have  in  the  training  of  future  leaders  and  teachers  in 
home,  church  and  school.  No  point  can  be  set  where 
the  element  of  training  for  teaching  and  official  serv- 
ice shall  begin.  The  baby  on  the  cradle  roll,  in  the 
mind  of  the  wise  church-school  planner,  is  due  to 
receive  some  lessons  that  will  fit  him  for  better  serv- 
ice some  day  as  a  religious  teacher.  The  lessons 
taught  the  little  child,  bearing  on  his  fundamental 
traits  of  character  and  the  quality  of  his  religion, 
will  some  day  contribute  to  his  teaching  efficiency; 
and  for  lack  of  just  such  lessons  some  of  our  present 
teachers  are  inefficient  as  soul-leaders  to-day.  It 
would  be  reason  enough  for  graded  lessons  in  the 
church  school  that  through  a  properly  graded  course 
we  contribute,  through  the  work  of  every  grade,  to 
the  adequacy  of  the  equipment  of  our  future  teaching 
supply. 

(b)  Junior  Training. — With  the  junior  grades, 
fourth  to  sixth,  ages  nine  to  eleven,  our  training  pur- 
pose begins  to  take  definite  and  visible  form.  Train- 
ing elements  in  a  junior  church-school  curriculum 
may  properly  include : 


( 1 )  Possession  of  a  Bible ;  memorizing  of  classi- 
fied list  of  Bible  books;  association  of  book  names 
with  included  stories  and  memorized  material ;  daily 
use  of  Bible  in  home  readings;  practice  in  reference- 
finding. 

(2)  A  fairly  full  cycle  of  the  great  stories  and 


174    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMEHSTEATION 

narratives  of  the  Bible,  effectively  presented  and  re- 
produced. 

(3)  Simple  Bible  map  study;  including  Palestine 
as  a  whole,  its  topography,  contour  and  main  loca- 
tions; detail  of  story  backgrounds,  as  the  plain  of 
Esdraelon,  the  western  slope  of  Judah,  Jerusalem  and 
vicinity,  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  etc. ;  Sinai  and  Palestine ; 
sketch  maps  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  worlds. 

(4)  Memorizing  of  selected  Bible  passages  for 
worship  and  religious  expression. 

(5)  Parallel  and  additional  stories  and  narratives 
from  missionary  history  and  adventure. 

In  the  best  printed  treatments  of  the  International 
and  other  graded  lesson  systems  substantially  all  of 
this  matter  is  included  now.  It  is  not  easy  to  cover 
it  all  under  the  limitations  of  an  ordinary  church 
school.  A  few  schools  succeed  in  doing  so;  and 
their  junior  graduates  enter  the  intermediate  de- 
partment with  a  grip  on  the  basic  features  of  Bible 
knowledge  and  an  appreciation  of  Bible  values  be- 
yond what  the  ordinary  adult  church  member  enjoys. 

(c)  Intermediate  and  Senior  Training. — Present 
graded  courses  for  the  six  intermediate  and  senior 
years  (grades  seven  to  twelve)  contain,  year  for 
year,  less  of  drill  material  and  memory  work  than 
does  the  junior  course.  Adolescent  interest  in  life 
demands  the  full  available  lesson  period  for  the  study 
and  discussion  of  the  character,  topic  or  story  as- 
signed for  the  day.  'Adolescent  independence  of  au- 
thority and  suggestion,  with  the  heavy  program  of 
school  work,  social  engagements,  community  organi- 
zations and  uncorrelated  church  work  under  club, 
band  and  society  leadership,  makes  it  no  easy  matter 


TEAINING  FOE  LEADERSHIP  175 

to  add  drill  work  of  any  kind  to  the  church-school 
lesson.  When  we  are  able  to  command  even  one  addi- 
tional lesson  period  a  week,  with  a  corresponding  pe- 
riod for  supervised  study,  advanced  map  work  and 
other  information  lessons  may  be  given,  leading  to  a 
mental  organization  of  the  outlines  of  Biblical  his- 
tory and  the  contents  of  the  more  important  books, 
and  to  a  great  extension  of  acquaintance  with  the 
literature  of  missions  and  social  service  and  the  facts 
of  church  history. 

More  significant  for  the  prospective  religious 
teacher,  however,  even  than  these  desired  attain- 
ments, are  the  present  actual  results  secured  by  good 
teaching  of  the  curriculum  for  these  six  grades.  In 
the  biographical  studies  which  now  predominate  the 
pupil  is  given  the  key  to  the  Bible  as  a  book  of  life. 
Its  men  and  women  are  made  real  to  him.  The  les- 
sons of  their  lives  are  expressed  for  him  not  only  in 
verbal  generalizations  but  in  applications  to  his  own 
growing  ideal  of  manhood  or  womanhood.  For  his 
present  spiritual  need  he  gains  a  vision  of  the  true 
values  of  life ;  and  for  his  future  use  as  a  teacher  he 
gains  an  appreciation  of  the  true  values  of  the  Bible 
and  of  many  illustrative  and  parallel  lives  from  other 
centuries  of  time.  The  requirement  that  every 
teacher  shall  be  an  intelligent  Christian,  able  to  dis- 
cuss and  defend  his  faith  as  well  as  to  profess  it  and 
to  maintain  and  apply  his  code  of  ethics  and  religious 
observance,  is  provided  for  in  the  senior  studies  on 
the  life  of  Christ  and  the  meaning  of  church  member- 
ship and  the  following  of  Jesus  as  Lord.  Most  of 
the  practical  problems  that  confront  the  adolescent  in 


176    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

his  personal  and  social  living  are  also  faced  and  sym- 
pathetically considered  in  the  lesson  courses  for  the 
senior  years. 

(rf)  Entrance  Requirements  Fulfilled. — Comple- 
tion of  twelfth-grade  study,  at  the  average  age  of 
seventeen  or  eighteen,  thus  fully  prepares  the 
teacher-candidate  for  entrance  on  advanced  elective 
studies,  which  in  his  case  will  look  forward  to  quali- 
fied teaching  service.  Completion  of  even  the  full 
junior  course  will  amply  cover  many  of  the  Bible  and 
map  lessons  of  the  old-time  Sunday-school  normal 
text-book;  and  the  addition  of  the  intermediate 
courses  will  give  an  appreciation  of  the  Bible  that  will 
make  all  subsequent  Bible  study  intelligent  and  inter- 
esting. It  is,  therefore,  a  reasonable  feature  of  a 
church-school  training  system  to  require  a  definite 
covering  of  graded  studies,  or  an  examination  to 
show  equivalent  preparation,  before  the  candidate  is 
admitted  to  the  training  class  or  allowed  with  the 
school's  approval  and  support  to  matriculate  in  the 
community  training  school.  The  standard  can  be  set 
low  and  advanced  grade  by  grade  as  progress  may 
warrant. 

Normal  studies,  of  course,  can  be  and  usually  are 
entered  on  in  the  average  Sunday  school  with  no 
such  stipulation.  The  very  idea  of  insisting  on  any 
entrance  qualification  seems  seldom  to  occur.  Yet 
what  college  or  technical  school  would  think  of  open- 
ing its  courses  to  matriculants  without  raising  the 
issue  of  what  they  have  studied  and  may  now  be 
trusted  to  know  ? 

Two  of  the  customary  obstacles  to  the  starting  of  a 


TEAtNING  FOR  LEADEESHIP  177 

local  training  class  are  the  hardness  and  unfamiHarity 
of  the  studies  and  the  lack  of  interest  in  the  project 
on  the  part  of  the  young  people  whom  we  desire  to 
enrol.  Therefore,  it  is  argued,  we  should  not  add  to 
these  difficulties  by  so  much  as  mentioning  that  candi- 
dates for  the  training  class  shall  be  required  to  know 
anything  or  to  have  taken  studies  of  any  prescribed 
grade.  Is  this  reasoning  sound?  By  making  mem- 
bership in  the  training  class  an  evidence  of  standing 
and  acceptance  shall  we  make  it  more  or  less  desir- 
able? By  stressing  in  advance  the  need  of  honest 
Bible  study  and  fulfillment  of  graded  requirements  in 
order  to  qualify  for  entrance  on  these  higher  studies, 
shall  we  help  or  hinder  the  work  all  along  the  line? 
Under  such  a  policy,  will  the  appetite  for  real  studies 
and  worth-while  masteries  languish  or  grow?  And 
without  a  large  and  well-organized  "  apperceptive 
mass "  of  preparatory  knowledge  as  the  teacher- 
trainer's  working  capital,  can  we  really  fit  any  one  to 
teach  religion? 

Graded  studies,  therefore,  should  be  counted 
among  other  things  as  a  necessary  and  natural  prepa- 
ration for  normal  studies  in  the  church  and  the  com- 
munity system  of  religious  teaching.  Courses  in 
teacher-training  and  officer-training  should  fit  and 
follow  the  higher  graded  courses  and  should  be  reck- 
oned as  a  regular  though  an  elective  portion  of  the 
school's  curriculum.  Admission  to  such  normal 
classes  should  be  handled  as  the  highest  honour  to 
which  a  faithful  pupil  may  aspire;  and  the  require- 
ments, once  set,  should  be  sustained  by  real  tests  and 
unflinching  exclusion  of  the  unfit. 


178    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

4.     The  Training  Curriculum. 

What,  now,  shall  be  the  form  and  content  of  the 
standard  course  of  studies  by  which,  in  a  modern 
church  school,  the  properly  prepared  candidates  for 
official  and  teaching  positions  shall  be  fitted  for  effi- 
cient performance  of  these  high  tasks  ? 

(a)  The  One-Year  Manual. — For  young  people 
who  have  been  fragmentarily  taught  under  the  uni- 
form lesson  system  or  where  the  working  ideals  of 
graded  lesson  instruction  have  not  been  reached,  and 
particularly  for  mature  students  eager  for  knowledge 
but  rusty  in  their  habits  of  study,  the  most  acceptable 
course  of  study  has  been  that  of  the  one-year  manual 
or  drill-book,  with  a  few  crisp  outline  studies  on  each 
of  those  bodies  of  information  which,  it  is  held,  every 
good  Sunday-school  teacher  ought  to  possess.  This 
form  of  instruction  came  in  with  the  uniform  lessons, 
was  perfected  in  the  annual  classes  of  the  Chautau- 
qua Assembly  under  the  lead  of  John  H.  Vincent  and 
his  successors,  and  is  exemplified  in  Hurlbut's 
Teacher  Training  Lessons  and  many  other  manuals 
of  the  same  type.  From  1908  to  1917  it  formed  the 
basis  of  the  International  "  First  Standard  Course." 
Of  its  popularity  and  the  practicability  of  using  it  in 
gathering,  holding  and  graduating  a  class  under  un- 
favourable educational  conditions  there  can  be  no 
question. 

{h)  A  Superseded  Type. — But  in  changing  from 
a  uniform  to  a  graded  lesson  basis  the  church-school 
constituency  has  also  changed  its  needs  for  a  normal 
curriculum.  Candidates  must  now  train  for  real 
teaching  work,  rather  than  for  a  set  of  hortatory  con- 


TEAINING  FOE  LEADERSHIP  179 

versations  on  a  dozen  Bible  verses  each  Sunday. 
They  must  speciaHze  in  studies  preparatory  to  service 
in  a  particular  department.  Each  topic  in  the  course 
must  be  so  filled  with  content  that  it  shall  be  under- 
stood and  assimilated  in  detail  and  not  merely  memo- 
rized in  outline ;  which  means  that  the  course  must  be 
several  years  long.  The  undergraduate  studies  of 
the  graded  lesson  course  are  coming  more  and  more 
to  be  found  in  use  in  our  Sunday  schools,  with  con- 
sequent better  preparation  of  candidates  for  normal 
study.  These  fundamental  changes  in  the  situation 
make  the  Hurlbut  type  of  manual  an  outgrown  insti- 
tution, except  where  the  traditions  of  the  uniform 
lesson  continue  to  prevail  and  the  leaders  are  satisfied 
to  perpetuate  them. 

But  deeper  than  these  changes  of  situation  is  the 
shift  in  the  educational  center  of  gravity  from  the 
Bible  to  the  child.  Once  v/e  taught  the  Bible  for  its 
own  sake.  Now  we  see  that  it  was  "  written  for  our 
learning,"  and  that,  precious  as  its  values  are,  they 
are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  values  presented  by 
the  children  whose  lives  we  seek  with  its  help  to 
guide  and  form.'  The  child,  therefore,  takes  the 
place  of  the  Bible  as  the  primary  subject  of  our 
study. 

(c)  The  Three-Year  Standard  Course. — The  old- 
style  manuals  all  began  with  the  Bible,  Into  forty  or 
fifty  short  lessons,  complete  in  themselves  and  leading 
up  to  no  subsequent  studies,  they  aimed  to  pack  the 
rudiments  of  Old  and  New  Testament  outlines,  Bible 

'  See  also  what  is  said  as  to  logical  aiid  psychologic  aims, 
Chapter  V,  Sec  4* 


180    CHUKCH-SCHOOL  ADMIlillSTEATION 

geography  and  institutions,  child  nature,  methods  of 
teaching  and  the  Sunday  school.  The  eagerly  antici- 
pated outcome  of  the  course  was  a  teacher-training 
diploma  and  the  status  of  an  alumnus  at  the  annual 
teacher-training  banquet  or  rally. 

Following  a  vigorous  attack  on  this  method  and  its 
educational  results,  made  by  Professor  Walter  S. 
Athearn  at  the  Fourteenth  International  Sunda}^- 
school  Convention,  Chicago,  1914,  the  denominational 
leaders  of  religious  education  began  a  carefiil  study 
of  the  problem  of  normal  curricula.  In  191 7  a  new 
standard  course  of  teacher-trainh.g  studies  was  com- 
pleted by  the  Sunday-school  Council  and  was  jointly 
approved  by  them  and  by  the  International  Sunday- 
school  Association.  In  distinction  from  the  "  first  " 
and  "  advanced  "  courses,  which  it  superseded,  it  pro- 
vided for: 

(i)  Three  years  of  study,  when  pursued  at  the 
rate  of  one  1^-  1  a  week  for  forty  weeks  a  year;  a 
total  of  123  lessons. 

(2)  The  course  to  be  divided  into  twelve  units  of 
ten  or  more  lessons  each;  four  units  to  constitute  a 
year's  work. 

(3)  The  material  of  the  course  to  be  selected  pri- 
marily for  its  training  value ;  information  as  such 
being  as  far  as  possible  left  for  graded  studies  to 
supply. 

(4)  The  first  four  units  to  comprise  the  studies 
of  greatest  general  value  to  all  kinds  of  church-school 
workers ;  so  that  those  pursuing  the  course  for  only 
one  year  might  get  the  greatest  possible  help  for  their 
future  work. 

(5)  The  Bible  material  in  the  first  year's  lessons 
to  be  such  as  is  used  in  classes  of  every  age. 


TEAINING  FOE  LEADEESHIP  181 

(6)  The  first  eight  units  to  be  studied  by  the 
whole  class. 

(7)  The  last  four  units,  comprising  the  third 
year's  work,  to  be  separate  for  each  main  specialty  of 
church-school  service ;  a  different  text  or  set  of  texts 
for  each  specialty  being  therefore  required. 

(8)  Certificates  to  be  granted  on  completion  of 
any  unit  or  year;  a  diploma  on  completion  of  the  full 
course. 

The  general  titles  of  the  eight  units  of  the  united 
two-year  course  under  this  plan,  as  approved  by  the 
Council  in  1916  and  1917,  are: 

First  Year:  (i)  The  Pupil;  (2)  The  Teacher; 
(3)  Significance  and  Teaching  Values  of  the  Life  of 
Christ;  (4)  The  Sunday  School. 

Second  Year:  (5)  Significance  and  Teaching 
Values  of  the  Old  Testament;  (6)  Significance  and 
Teaching  Values  of  the  New  Testament  (other  than 
the  Life  of  Christ)  ;  (7)  The  Message  of  the  Chris- 
tian Religion;  (8)  How  to  Train  the  Devotional  Life. 

Under  these  titles,  variously  modified,  and  under 
the  five  sets  of  titles  also  adopted  by  the  Council  for 
the  five  lines  of  third-year  specialization  recognized 
in  1917,'  many  text-books  have  since  been  issued; 
concerning  which  the  administrator  will  naturally  in- 
quire of  his  denominational  headquarters,  comparing 
what  is  there  recommended  with  other  texts  by  differ- 
ent authors,  to  find  that  which  will  on  the  whole  best 
meet  the  needs  of  his  local  work. 

(d)  Preliminary  Courses. — So  unready  is  the 
North  American  field  as  a  whole  for  the  full  program 
of  three-year  studies  thus  outlined,  that  thousands  of 
^  See  Appendix  C. 


182    CHUEOH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

workers  still  cling  to  the  older  and  simpler  text-book 
form.  For  many  years  we  shall  still  have  some 
young  persons  and  many  adults  who  would  gladly 
take  training  studies  for  church-school  teaching,  but 
who  lack  preparation  to  fit  them  for  satisfactorily 
pursuing  the  standard  course. 

If  confronted  with  such  a  need,  the  administrator, 
instead  of  lowering  his  standards  of  entrance  and 
continuance  on  his  regular  graded  three-year  course 
of  training,  should  organize  a  preparatory  class.  The 
studies  of  this  class  will  be  mainly  on  the  Bible. 
They  may  be  frankly  informational  in  content  and 
aim.  The  old-line  normal  manual  will  not  answer 
for  this  work ;  but  numerous  useful  texts  have  been 
published  which  may  be  used  to  gain  a  general  view 
of  the  Bible  contents,  an  outline  of  Bible  history  and 
an  introduction  to  the  appreciation  of  its  literary, 
ethical  and  religious  values.  Treatises  of  this  sort, 
written  for  this  purpose,  are  much  to  be  desired. 

5.     Supervised  Substitution. 

Qualification  as  a  teacher  implies  experience  along 
with  knowledge  and  good-will.  The  laws  of  peda- 
gogy are  as  dead  as  the  formulas  of  trigonometry 
until  we  have  applied  them  to  living  cases,  used  them 
in  overcoming  actual  difficulties  and  so  made  them 
part  of  ourselves.  All  good  normal  training,  there- 
fore, involves  a  certain  amount  of  practice  teaching. 

(a)  No  Premature  Interruptions. — The  training 
class  is  never  to  be  used  by  the  improvident  superin- 
tendent as  a  hunting-ground  for  emergency  substi- 
tutes.   For  at  least  the  first  term,  and  preferably  for 


TEAINING  FOE  LEADEESHIP  183 

the  first  year,  the  students  should  go  on  with  their 
lessors  without  distraction  or  break.  To  call 
them  out  during  this  period  is  to  disregard  and  vio- 
late the  conditions  of  successful  training. 

But  when  the  interested  student  has  learned  the 
characteristics  of  childhood  at  different  ages  and  the 
elementary  rules  of  good  lesson-making,  and  has  had 
these  applied  to  some  of  the  lessons  in  the  graded 
course,  he  will  want  to  try  his  own  hand  at  the  proc- 
ess. It  will  then  be  good  training  to  afford  him  a 
chance  to  do  so. 

(b)  Lower-Grade  Departmental  Assignments. — 
In  the  lower  departments,  as  we  have  seen,*  the  de- 
partment principal  does  most  of  the  hour's  work  and 
is  herself  a  preceptor  to  her  teachers  and  assistants. 
Under  these  conditions,  the  candidate  for  future 
service  in  any  one  of  these  departments  may  be  by 
special  arrangement  detailed  for  a  month  as  extra 
assistant  or  substitute  teacher.  On  completion  of 
this  period  the  pupil  will  resume  her  place  in  the 
training  class  and  submit  a  report  of  her  experience 
and  observation  for  discussion  and  criticism.  One 
or  more  of  such  temporary  assistants  may  thus  be 
furnished  monthly  throughout  the  year ;  and  the  prin- 
cipal concerned  will  organize  her  permanent  force  ac- 
cordingly. The  missed  training  lessons  will  have  to 
be  studied  week  by  week  and  the  recitation  work 
made  up  with  special  help  from  the  training  teacher. 

(c)  In  the  Upper-Grade  Classes. — For  those  who 
are  to  teach  upper  classes,  single  Sunday  assignments 
will  be  the  rule.     Arrangements  may  be  made — per- 

'  Chapter  IV,  3a. 


184    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

haps  at  the  monthly  workers'  conferences — to  relieve 
certain  teachers  of  their  classes  for  certain  Sundays 
two  or  three  weeks  ahead;  and  for  these  and  other 
expected  vacancies  the  training  teacher  will  prepare 
pupil-assignments.  The  pupil-teacher  is  to  work  up 
the  lesson  with  care,  if  possible  after  consultation 
with  the  regular  teacher,  and  is  to  submit  his  plan  to 
his  preceptor.  This  is  needful  not  only  for  his  good, 
but  to  make  the  lesson,  for  the  pupils'  sake,  as  effect- 
ive as  possible.  After  teaching,  he  is  to  report  his 
experience  in  class  for  the  usual  discussion  and  sug- 
gestions by  fellow-pupils  and  teacher. 

(d)  Other  Opportunities. — In  addition  to  these 
outlets  for  pedagogic  expressive  activity,  the  pupil- 
teachers,  especially  in  the  second  year  and  later, 
should  be  encouraged  to  seek  opportunities  to  teach 
wherever  they  can  be  found.  Groups  of  children  can 
be  gathered  for  story-telling;  service  can  often  be 
given  in  a  mission  school  at  some  other  hour  on  Sun- 
day ;  or  the  school  can  develop  its  extension  service  as 
a  branch  of  the  home  department  and  open  one  or 
more  home  classes  for  weekly  visit  and  instruction  in 
outlying  sections  of  the  parish ;  the  training  students 
acting  as  teachers.  The  candidates  for  service  as 
church-school  officers  may  find  their  best  fields  for 
practice  in  these  out-station  appointments,  including 
the  supervision  of  the  home  classes.  A  training  su- 
pervisor whose  students  are  eager  for  such  oppor- 
tunities rather  than  for  diploma  credits  is  a  success. 

6.     The  Training  Department. 

(a)     Its  Scope. — The  real  training  curriculum,  as 


TEAININQ  FOE  LEADERSHIP  185 

we  saw  in  Section  3,  reaches  into  every  grade  of  the 
school.  Similarly,  every  officer  and  teacher  should 
be  a  student  under  training.  The  administrator's 
aim  should  be  to  make  every  position  in  the  school 
force  a  continuous  course  of  training  for  better  and 
higher  service. 

The  traveling  teacher,  attached  to  an  unpromoted 
class/  has  no  chance  to  accumulate  experience  vi^ith  a 
certain  grade  and  grow  proficient  through  repeated 
effort.  Nor  can  one  who  teaches  a  revolving  course 
of  Bible  lessons  gather  a  store  of  recitation  material 
for  use  when  covering  the  same  course  with  a  new  set 
of  pupils.  But  the  department  faculty  member  can 
do  both  these  things ;  and  so  his  place  in  the  graded 
church  school  is  itself  a  training  course.  Every  year 
of  his  experience  adds  to  his  value  as  a  teacher. 

The  scope  of  the  training  department  will  therefore 
embrace  everything  in  the  school  that  contributes  to 
proficiency  in  service.  The  training  leader's  advice, 
suggestions  and  criticism  in  this  direction  should  al- 
ways be  made  welcome.  If  the  secretary  is  handling 
his  assistants  as  mere  drudges,  never  giving  them  a 
chance  to  work  out  some  problem  or  acquire  some 
new  experience,  his  function  as  a  trainer  should  be 
called  to  his  attention.  If  the  graded  studies  in  one 
department  are  a  failure,  the  training  leader  should 
bring  up  the  issue  if  the  superintendent  or  the  direc- 
tor does  not. 

The  assignment  of  pupil-teachers  as  apprentice 
helpers  and  supervised  substitutes  will  give  the  train- 
ing leader  a  further  relationship  to  the  work  in  all 
'  See  Chapter  IV.  2. 


186    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

departments.  Tact,  therefore,  no  less  than  courage 
and  skill,  will  be  a  requisite,  if  the  training  service  is 
to  be  developed  to  the  full. 

The  work  will  further  extend  to  all  the  forms  of 
extra-school  training  discussed  in  Section  7,  below. 

(b)  Its  Leader. — Service  to  the  extent  and  of  the 
quality  thus  indicated  is  obviously  necessary,  if  this 
master-task  of  the  administration  is  to  be  adequately 
discharged.  Equally  obvious  is  it  that  the  fields 
where  such  service  can  be  had  on  our  usual  volunteer 
basis  will  be  few  and  far  between. 

Here,  then,  is  the  point  where  the  far-seeing  ad- 
ministrator may  hope  with  least  friction  and  speediest 
success  to  begin  the  inevitable  movement  of  our 
church-school  system  from  a  wholly  voluntary  to  a 
partially  professional  basis.  The  employment  of  a 
director  of  education  is  a  church  matter,  of  a  class 
with  the  calling  of  a  pastor.  The  securing  of  a  com- 
petent head  for  the  training  department  is  a  responsi- 
bility of  the  church  school. 

The  need  of  such  a  worker  and  the  scope  of  his  or 
her  duties  should  be  explained  to  the  workers'  coun- 
cil. A  vote  should  then  be  taken  to  fill  the  place 
when  the  way  is  clear.  A  limit  of  salary  may  be  set 
and  a  committee  appointed  to  find  the  man  or  woman 
and  the  money.  Until  the  church  is  ready  to  add  this 
part-time  salary  to  its  educational  budget,  the  cost 
will  have  to  be  covered  by  a  special  subscription. 

The  work  might  form  part  of  the  duties  of  the 
director;  but  it  is  far  better  placed  in  the  hands  of 
one  who  has  no  other  task  in  the  school.  A  Qiristian 
school  teacher  or  principal,  who  will  accept  this  io 


TRAINING  FOR  LEADERSHIP  187 

place  of  night-school  work  under  his  board  of  educa- 
tion, would  be  the  likeliest  selection.  But  the  com- 
munity might  furnish  some  better  choice. 

(c)  Its  Members  and  Methods. — In  a  small 
school  the  trainer  will  organize  one  class  of  young 
people  and  carry  it  over  two  years  of  class  work,  then 
seeking  places  for  the  students  in  their  chosen  de- 
partments, where  they  may  pursue  their  studies  for 
the  third  year  by  text-book  study  and  practice  under 
tutorial  supervision.  Where  the  school  is  larger,  as- 
sistant trainers  must  be  found,  so  that  a  fresh  class 
may  be  launched  each  year.  With  students  doing 
third-year  work  under  supervision,  the  trainer  or  an 
assistant  should  be  free  of  class  work  during  the  les- 
son hour,  so  as  to  be  able  to  visit  students  at  work  for 
criticism  and  suggestion.  The  second-year  students 
doing  supervised  substitution  should  likewise  have 
the  help  of  a  critic-teacher  whenever  this  can  be  fur- 
nished. 

The  members  of  the  department  should  be  encour- 
aged to  organize,  to  develop  their  social  life  as  fel- 
low-students, to  wear  a  badge  and  to  look  forward 
to  the  honours  of  graduation  and  entrance  on  the 
status  of  an  accredited  graduate  of  the  training 
course. 

(d)  Equipment. — A  room  or  rooms  of  adequate 
size,  furnished  with  student  armchairs,  ample  black- 
board space,  library  shelving  and  a  teacher's  desk,  is 
clearly  needful,  if  the  training  classes  are  to  be  kept 
up  to  purposeful  work.  The  room  must  be  closed 
from  sight  and  sound  of  other  departments,  kept 
clear  of  interruptions  from  visitors  and  officials  and 


188    CHUECH-SCHOOL  AD]\nNISTRATION 

made  available  for  week-day  work  whenever  so 
needed.  Note-books,  paper  and  other  supplies  should 
be  furnished,  and  the  department's  library  kept 
fairly  up  to  date.  As  most  of  the  graduates  will 
serve  the  church  freely,  the  least  it  can  do  is  to  be 
generous  in  recognizing  and  meeting  the  department's 
requirements  for  efficient  service. 

7.     Training  Outside  the  School. 

(a)  Headquarters  Leadership. — The  church  school 
at  its  best  will  need  and  should  use  help  from  the 
general  body  of  church-school  workers,  denomina- 
tional and  territorial. 

From  the  educational  headquarters  of  its  church 
or  denomination  the  school's  training  department  is 
due  to  receive  its  approved  text-books,  the  enrol- 
ment, examination  and  grading  of  its  students  and 
the  general  supervision  of  the  training-class  work, 
with  much  else  of  suggestion  and  supply.  Some  of 
the  denominations  conduct  field  institutes  and  em- 
ploy educational  representatives  whose  correspond- 
ence and  occasional  visits  to  the  churches  may  prove 
to  be  the  starting-point  of  effective  local  organization. 

Wherever  this  denominational  service  is  unavail- 
able or  inapplicable,  as  in  the  case  of  a  church  of  a 
small  denomination,  a  federated  church,  a  union 
school  or  a  community  class  formed  by  joint  action 
of  neighbouring  churches,  the  leadership  of  the  state 
association  headquarters  may  be  invoked  for  a  simi- 
lar service.  The  conventions  and  institutes  held  by 
the  state,  county  and  city  associations  are  likewise 
fruitful   sources   of   educational   inspiration   to   the 


TEAINING  FOR  LEADERSHIP  189 

schools  represented;  especially  where  the  larger  and 
more  progressive  churches  and  church  schools  give 
to  the  united  w^ork  their  active  and  liberal  support. 
All  standard  training-class  work  should  be  promptly 
reported  to  the  proper  officials  both  of  the  denomina- 
tion and  of  the  associated  work. 

(b)  The  Community  Training  School. — Wherever 
population  and  educational  interest  make  possible,  the 
training  department  of  the  church  school  should  re- 
ceive and  utilize  the  immense  assistance  of  a  com- 
munity training  school.  In  the  enterprise  of  starting 
and  maintaining  such  a  school,  such  a  church  school 
as  this  book  has  been  describing  will  be  an  active 
partner. 

In  a  community  training  school  run  on  the  Inter- 
national standard  there  are  held  each  night  two  sets 
of  lectures  or  classes,  with  an  assembly  period  before 
or  between.  The  school  meets  on  one  night  a  week 
for  at  least  twenty  nights  a  year.  The  work  is  di- 
vided into  two  terms  of  ten  or  more  weeks  each. 
The  studies  include  thorough  courses  on  the  Bible,  to 
organize  and  deepen  the  workers'  Bible  knowledge; 
courses  in  psychology  and  pedagogy;  courses  in  the 
practical  methods  of  the  several  departments;  and 
courses  on  such  topics  as  story-telling,  map-making, 
pageantry  and  dramatism  in  religious  education,  and 
other  specialties  needed  by  particular  workers. 

These  studies  are  planned  and  announced  three 
years  at  a  time.  This  enables  each  student  to  elect 
his  course  so  as  to  cover  in  three  years  what  he  wants 
to  learn.  At  the  end  of  the  three  years,  or  on  suc- 
cessful completion  of  six  units  of  twenty  or  more 


190    CHUECH  SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

lessons  each,  the  standard  diploma  is  awarded  to 
those  whose  work  has  been  satisfactory.  It  is  usual 
not  to  offer  all  the  courses  every  year.  In  a  properly 
run  community  training  school — or  a  school  of  re- 
ligious education,  as  it  is  also  called — each  member 
of  the  faculty  is  fully  qualified  to  teach  the  courses 
assigned  him,  and  the  texts  used  and  classroom 
standards  maintained  are  those  of  a  college;  a  high- 
school  training  or  its  equivalent  being  presumed  for 
all  students. 

Where  such  a  school  is  available — even  if  many 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  transportation  and  the  shift- 
ing of  other  engagements  must  be  overcome — the 
leader  of  the  training  department  will  unite  with  the 
superintendent  to  secure  the  enrolment  and  regular 
attendance  of  as  many  of  the  force  as  can  possibl> 
be  induced  to  attend  and  work.  The  small  registra- 
tion fee  and  the  cost  of  transportation  will  of  course 
be  met  by  the  school.  The  method  courses  for  the 
work  of  the  several  departments  will  aid  the  train- 
ing teacher  in  getting  his  students  over  the  ground 
of  the  training-course  specialization  year. 

(c)  Summer  Schools  and  Reading  Courses. — In 
thousands  of  communities,  of  course,  the  community 
training  school  does  not  now  seem  a  possibility. 
From  these  fields,  as  well  as  from  the  more  favoured 
centers,  selected  workers  may  be  sent  by  the  church 
to  take  a  week's  course  in  religious  education  at  a 
school  of  principles  and  methods.  A  number  of 
these  week-long  schools  are  held  every  summer. 
The  oldest  and  in  some  respects  the  most  advanced 
in  educational  development  is  that  held  at  Asbury 


TEAIKING  FOR  LEADERSHIP  191 

Park,  New  Jersey,  the  first  or  second  week  in  July. 
The  church  school's  denominational  headquarters 
will  be  able  in  the  spring  to  supply  information  as 
to  these  summer  school  opportunities;  as  will  also 
the  office  of  the  state  association. 

In  the  standard  simimer  school,  as  in  the  com- 
munity training  school,  the  studies  are  planned  in  a 
three-year  cycle.  To  unite  the  work  of  the  three 
years,  reading  courses  are  offered,  which  students 
may  pursue  at  home.  By  means  of  these  courses, 
frequently  supplemented  by  correspondence  with  the 
educational  secretary  at  headquarters,  the  student  is 
enabled  to  utilize  his  regular  service  in  class  and  de- 
partment as  practice  work  in  his  course  and  is  fitted 
for  the  higher  studies  of  the  second  or  third  year. 
Several  of  the  denominational  headquarters  also  offer 
correspondence  courses  for  individual  training  stu- 
dents who  live  where  an  organized  class  and  a  teacher 
cannot  be  maintained. 

8.    The  Workers*  Conference. 

Not  the  least  of  the  training  facilities  available  to 
the  church  school  is  to  be  found  in  a  properly  de- 
veloped monthly  conference  of  teachers,  officers  and 
presidents  of  older  classes.  With  the  pastor  as  mod- 
erator, to  keep  the  program  to  time,  a  well-digested 
docket  of  necessary  business  items  despatched  with- 
out delay,  and  earnest  periods  of  worship  at  the  be- 
ginning and  conference  on  problems  following  the 
business  session,  time  in  addition  may  regularly  be 
found  for  a  half-hour's  study  of  some  vital  topic  in 
method.    On  this  topic,  announced  on  a  yearly  cal- 


192    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

endar,  one  of  the  principals  or  teachers  or  officers 
may  be  asked  to  present  a  paper,  to  be  followed  by  a 
short  discussion. 

Nothing  educates  us  like  the  expression  of  the 
thought  that  is  in  us.  One  year  of  such  meetings  as 
is  here  described  may  well  bring  up  the  force  to  a 
new  level  of  seriousness  as  to  their  work  and  its 
claims  and  problems. 

9.    The  Wider  Outlook. 

Divine  grace,  ministered  through  determination, 
hard  work,  the  pastor's  sympathy,  full  cooperation 
in  the  departments,  the  raising  of  a  fund  for  paid 
leadership  and  the  finding  of  the  right  leader,  may 
enable  the  church  school  to  develop  its  training  func- 
tion as  is  here  described.    What  will  the  harvest  be  ? 

(a)  In  the  School. — Advance  provision  for  need, 
in  the  form  of  a  waiting  list  of  graduates  ready  in 
each  department  for  the  next  class  vacancy,  will  be 
the  immediate  end  of  our  efforts.  Several  years  of 
steady  progress  should  bring  us  approximately  to 
that  condition.  Automatically  we  shall  thus  fix  a 
higher  rating  for  our  teaching  service  and  increase 
the  pressure  for  standard  educational  results.  Some 
of  the  teachers  older  in  service  will  improve  their 
work ;  others  will  resign.  The  pupils,  especially  those 
of  high  school  age,  will  respect  our  calls  for  attend- 
ance and  home  study  as  they  do  not  ordinarily  respect 
them  now. 

(b)  In  the  Church. — If  ours  is  a  church  school,  it 
should  offer  training  for  church  as  well  as  church- 
scbool  service.     Home  visitation,  church  and  bencv- 


TEAINING  FOR  LEADERSHIP  193 

olent  collecting  and  finance,  leadership  and  service 
in  aid  and  missionary  societies  and  church  boards, 
and  service  in  the  simpler  forms  of  inter-church  co- 
operation, are  among  the  method  specialties  that  may 
be  offered  as  elective  courses  in  the  church  school's 
training  curriculum.  As  this  broadened  service  is  felt 
in  the  church  life,  through  the  incoming  of  trained 
recruits  for  these  needed  services,  the  problem  of 
support  for  a  work  so  manifestly  profitable  will  be 
sensibly  lightened. 

(c)  Life  Service. — Abundant  experience  shows 
that  when  real  training  is  anywhere  given  for  volun- 
tary and  marginal  Christian  service,  it  stimulates 
some  of  the  students  to  the  point  of  dedicating  to 
the  work  their  whole  hves.  The  Lord  has  need  of 
such  workers ;  and  every  year  sees  the  need  increase 
and  the  prospect  brighten  of  a  living  salary  and  a 
standardized  service  awaiting  the  qualified  worker. 
Already  we  have  the  standardized  profession  of  di- 
rector of  religious  education  and  that  of  the  deacon- 
ess or  trained  church  worker.  Soon  we  shall  in  like 
manner  standardize  that  of  the  graded  teacher  of 
religion,  with  its  basis  of  church  or  community  sup- 
port. 

It  is  high  time  that  our  church  school  should  seri- 
ously consider  these  coming  needs.  If  we  are  to  be 
ready  to  meet  them,  the  boys  and  girls  concerned 
should  be  under  elementary  training  now,  and  every 
likely  recruit  of  older  age  should  be  encouraged  to 
train  to  the  limit  of  present  opportunity.  Profes- 
sional schools  exist  where  a  student  in  residence  may 
coD^lete  the  training  begun  at  home.    Departments 


194    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

of  religious  education  in  Christian  colleges  are  more 
common  than  formerly  and  are  doing  better  work. 
If  one  in  ten  of  our  enrolled  training  students  is  led 
to  turn  his  eyes  to  the  white  field  of  religious  educa- 
tion as  his  life-call,  will  not  that  result  alone  make 
all  our  efforts  worth  while  ? 

(d)  Reciprocity. — It  is  American  to  move.  Many 
of  those  whom  we  seek  thus  to  train  for  service  in 
our  own  church  school  and  the  homes  of  our  parish 
will  in  a  few  years,  perhaps  in  a  few  months,  go  else- 
where. What  then?  Is  the  effort  to  be  counted 
lost?  Does  not  the  strong  school  owe  a  debt  to  the 
field  at  large  akin  to  that  which  it  seeks  to  pay  in  its 
missionary  offerings?  Should  we  not  rejoice  to  send 
forth  a  stream  of  leaders  who  in  some  less  fortunate 
place  may  reproduce  the  standards  and  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  old  school  at  home? 

Mention  was  made  at  the  outset  of  this  chapter  of 
the  drawback  of  transient  workers.  It  is  indeed  a 
discouraging  feature  of  our  work.  But  are  we  not 
obligated  in  honour  to  give  to  the  field  at  least  as 
much  as  the  field  sends  back  to  us?  When  every 
church  school  is  doing  its  part  in  the  service  of  train- 
ing for  Christian  workers,  the  evil  of  transiency  will 
largely  disappear. 

Assignments 

1.  Why  is  training  the  master  task  of  the  church- 
school  administrator? 

2.  (i)  What  percentage  of  the  pupil-members  of 
your  school  should  be  students  in  training?  (2)  In 
calculating  this,  what  should  be  taken  into  considera- 


TEAJNING  FOE  LEADEESHIP  195 

2e.  How  does  lack  of  adequate  training  aifect 
Sunday-school  conditions  generally? 

3a.  How  does  good  elementary  religious  training 
contribute  to  training  for  teaching  service  ? 

3b,  Name  some  of  the  training  features  of  the 
graded  junior  course. 

3c.  What  contribution  is  made  by  the  graded  in- 
termediate and  senior  studies? 

3d.  (i)  Why  is  it  reasonable  to  set  up  entrance 
requirements  for  the  school's  training  course?  (2) 
What  obstacles  will  this  help  to  remove  ? 

4a,  b.  Why  is  the  one-year  drill-book  type  of 
teacher-training  manual  no  longer  standard  ? 

4c.  Give  some  of  the  features  of  the  present 
standard  outline  plan  for  the  training  course. 

4d.     What  preliminary  study  may  this  call  for? 

5a.  Why  should  the  superintendent  in  need  of 
substitutes  let  the  training  class  alone? 

5b.  How  may  the  students  training  for  work  with 
children  get  contact  with  the  work  of  their  prospec- 
tive grades? 

5c.  How  may  pupil-teaching  in  the  upper  grades 
be  handled  ? 

5d.  What  other  chances  for  practice  are  avail- 
able' 

6a.  How  wide  is  the  scope  of  the  training  de- 
partment ? 

6b.  (i)  What  are  the  minimum  qualifications  es- 
sential in  a  successful  leader  of  the  training  depart- 
ment?    (2)  How  may  such  a  leader  be  secured? 

6c.  How  shall  the  training  class  be  taught  in  the 
S3>ecialized  third  year  of  the  standard  course? 


196    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

6d.  How  would  you  build  and  equip  the  room  or 
rooms  for  a  training  department  in  your  school  ? 

7a.  (i)  What  help  may  be  sought  from  the 
school's  denominational  headquarters?  (2)  From 
the  headquarters  of  the  state  association? 

7b.  (i)  What  is  a  community  training  school? 
(2)  Does  it  supersede  or  stimulate  local  training 
work?  How?  (3)  What  should  be  the  relation  of 
the  church  school  to  its  community  training  school? 
(4)  If  none,  what  to  the  need  for  one? 

7c.  ( I )  What  is  a  summer  school,  or  "  school  of 
principles  and  methods,"  for  church-school  workers? 
(2)  How  does  it  complement  the  work  of  the  com- 
munity training  school?  (3)  How  can  its  work  be 
made  continuous  from  year  to  year? 

8.  How  can  the  school's  monthly  workers'  con- 
ference be  made  a  training  force  ? 

9.  (i)  Mention  some  of  the  results  that  a  well 
organized  training  department  may  be  expected  to 
secure.  (2)  State  if  you  can  any  such  results  that 
have  come  to  your  attention. 


IX 

THE  YEARLY  PROGRAM 

1.    The  Annual  Goal. 

(a)  Not  Sessions  but  Years. — Between  the  work 
and  the  ideals  of  the  old-line  Sunday-school  super- 
intendent and  those  of  a  modern  church  school  the 
distinctions  are  many.  One  fundamental  distinction 
should  be  emphasized;  especially  as  it  is  subject  to 
personal  exceptions  on  both  sides.  The  superinten- 
dent of  the  earlier  ideals  was  wont  to  make  his  plans 
and  do  his  work  session  by  session.  Modern  ideals 
demand  that  the  executive  shall  make  his  plans  by 
the  quarter,  the  season  and  the  year. 

The  goal  for  next  Sunday  is  not  primarily  a  rec- 
ord attendance  and  an  inspiring  session.  Success  to 
this  extent  is  surely  desirable,  providing  it  can  be 
attained  without  the  sacrifice  of  higher  values.  The 
true  goal  for  next  Sunday  is  rather  the  making  of  a 
definite  and  standard  contribution,  in  every  class, 
department  and  assembly,  to  the  lesson-teaching  and 
character-shaping  work  undertaken  for  this  school 
year. 

The  year  forms  the  natural  unit  of  all  school  work. 
While  the  school  and  the  college  emphasize  terms 
and  semesters  or  half-years,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  they  work  twenty  or  thirty  hours  to  the  church 
school's  one.  The  church  school  should  take  pains 
to  punctuate  its  years  one  from  the  other,  if  this 
punctuation  is  not  already  effected  by  the  vacation 

197 


198    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

period.  When  this  clear  marking  of  the  years  has 
been  made,  it  will  be  possible  to  formulate  and  keep 
in  mind  an  annual  educational  goal. 

(b)  When  Shall  the  Year  Begin f — The  educa- 
tional year  of  the  church  school  will  naturally  begin, 
with  the  graded  lesson  courses,  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  October.  No  other  date  fits  our  American  school 
habits,  to  which  all  systems  of  graded  lessons  con- 
form. This  fixes  Promotion  Sunday,  with  its  public 
transfers  of  pupils,  classes  and  teachers,  on  the  last 
Sunday  of  September;  in  order  that  all  grades  may 
start  with  Lesson  i  on  the  following  Sunday.  An 
earlier  Sunday  in  September  may  be  taken  if  more 
convenient. 

Four  full  terms  of  three  months  each  is  the  ideal 
to  be  striven  for  everywhere.  But  where  attendance 
runs  low  in  the  summer,  or  the  school  is  closed  al- 
together, classes  are  frequently  reorganized  and  pro- 
motions made  on  Children's  Day,  the  second  Sunday 
in  June,  or  on  some  other  Sunday  of  that  month. 
This  then  becomes  the  school's  commencement  day 
for  the  year;  the  summer  work  if  any  being  sepa- 
rately planned  for  on  a  reduced  scale,  with  fewer 
workers  and  consolidated  grades.  It  is  then  in  order 
to  hold  on  the  last  Sunday  of  September  a  setting-up 
day,  in  which  the  new  roll  of  teachers  is  called  over 
and  provision  made  for  vacancies  which  have  devel- 
oped since  June. 

Whenever  it  may  occur,  the  end  of  the  school's 
teaching  year  should  be  a  high  day,  with  formal  an- 
nouncements and  the  conferring  of  honours,  and 
.with  such  speaking  and  exercises  as  will  lend  dignity 


THE  TEAELY  PEOGEAM  199 

and  interest  for  all  grades  to  the  completion  of  an- 
other unit  in  each  pupil's  life-work  of  religious  edu- 
cation. 

(c)  A  Goal  for  Every  Work. — Back  of  the  public 
school's  commencement  lies  a  year  of  serious  work, 
the  plans  for  which,  in  every  class,  grade  and  study, 
were  made  at  the  beginning  and  followed  up  with 
determination.  Illness  or  absence  of  a  teacher,  dif- 
ficulties with  the  heating  plant,  an  epidemic  and 
quarantine — these  were  not  placidly  taken  as  full  ex- 
cuse for  failure  to  keep  work  up  to  schedule.  Sub- 
stitutes were  found;  emergency  measures  were 
adopted;  the  term  was  lengthened  to  make  up  for 
lost  time.  The  public  school  takes  itself  seriously. 
When  the  church  school  does  the  same,  its  com- 
mencement also  will  be  a  really  momentous  occasion. 

The  educational  leader,  therefore,  must  plan  his 
year  of  work,  not  only  for  the  school  in  general  but 
for  each  department  and  class  and  for  every  empha- 
sized specialty.  He  will  do  this,  of  course,  through 
the  principals,  supervisors  and  teachers  concerned, 
by  calling  on  each  to  prepare  and  submit  his  state- 
ment of  plan  for  the  coming  year's  work  and  results 
expected  therefrom.  These  drafts,  after  study  in 
committee  and  digestion  into  standard  and  simple 
form,  will  be  supplemented  by  the  formulated  goals 
of  the  general  officers  and  presented  to  the  workers' 
council  for  adoption  and  record;  after  which  each 
worker  will  take  his  carbon  slip  and  keep  it  before 
him  throughout  the  year.* 

*A  detailed  statement  of  such  goals  for  a  Sunday  school 
of  fifty  members,  presumably  in  a  rural  neighbourhood,  will 


200    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMIKISTRAHON 

No  goal  for  any  work,  of  course,  can  be  more  than 
an  estimate  of  what  good  work  should  accomplish 
in  that  place  within  the  unit  period.  No  worker  is 
bound  by  the  goal  except  as  he  himself  accepts  it  as 
his  challenge.  Each  worker  so  accepting  will  pro- 
ceed to  pass  on  the  challenge  to  his  pupils  or  under- 
workers  and  call  on  them  to  join  in  making  the  chal- 
lenge good.  The  spirit  in  which  these  goals  are  pre- 
sented, therefore,  will  have  much  to  do  with  the  suc- 
cess of  the  effort.  No  goal  should  be  set  that  earnest 
effort  by  real  workers  cannot  reach.  But  allowance 
may  be  made  for  the  factors  of  improvement  in  per- 
sonal efficiency  and  in  the  cooperation  and  coordina- 
tion of  other  lines  of  work ;  so  that  the  goal  is  higher 
than  Tan  be  reached  unless  these  improvements  are 
secured. 

2.     Promotions. 

(a)  Remaking  the  Graded  Roll. — ^The  children  are 
constantly  growing.  If  the  graded  structure  of  the 
school  is  to  remain  and  grow  stronger  year  by  year, 
promotions  are  inevitable.  These  may  take  place 
semi-annually  with  the  very  little  children,  every 
three  years  in  schools  graded  departmentally  ^  and 
annually  in  all  other  cases.  The  effective  handling 
of  these  promotions  will  constitute  an  important  fea- 
ture of  the  educational  year, 

he  found  in  the  author's  "  How  to  Run  a  Little  Sunday 
School,"  pp.  117-121.  As  arranged  for  a  school  of  this  type, 
the  statement  covers  the  five  heads  of  community  uplift, 
development  of  Christian  character,  Bible  teaching,  training 
for  service  and  self-perpetuation. 
'  Chapter  III,  8t. 


THE  YEAELY  PIIOGRAM  201 

If  the  name  of  every  pupil,  with  the  grade  to  which 
he  belongs  and  the  class  in  which  he  is  now  enrolled, 
lies  before  the  educational  director  in  the  school's 
graded  roll,  it  will  be  easy  to  make  up  the  list  of 
those  to  be  promoted  from  the  third  grade  of  one 
department  to  the  first  grade  of  the  next.  Promo- 
tions within  the  department  will  be  equally  clear.  If 
this  roll  has  not  been  prepared  or  is  uncertain,  pro- 
motions will  give  trouble  and  may  lead  to  unpleasant 
personal  issues  with  pupils  and  parents.  Suggestions 
for  making  transfers  of  pupils  earlier  in  the  year,  in 
order  to  bring  the  graded  roll  and  the  roll  by  classes 
into  closer  harmony,  were  given  under  Chapter  I,  3, 
above. 

(b)  The  Policy  of  Na  Demotions. — It  is  not  well 
to  demote  pupils  in  the  church  school  for  failure  to 
reach  a  standard  set  for  lesson  preparation  and  mas- 
tery of  graded  studies.  If  in  this  or  any  other  way 
it  is  learned  that  the  pupil  properly  belongs  in  an- 
other and  younger  group,  a  transfer  may  be  made; 
but  this  should  rather  be  done  informally  and  earlier 
in  the  year,  as  suggested  in  the  reference  just  cited. 
The  information-content  of  the  courses  is  important ; 
but  our  dominant  aim  is  spiritual,  the  growth  of 
character,  the  development  of  interest,  ambition,  en- 
thusiasm, reverence,  faith.  Fear  of  demotion  is  of 
no  avail  in  the  reaching  of  these  ends.  Moreover, 
when  a  pupil  fails  to  reach  the  standard  it  is  some- 
times his  own  fault;  but  the  real  trouble  may  lie  at 
home  or  with  the  teacher.  Our  policy  should  be  to 
give  each  class  each  year  its  full  chance  to  receive 
and  profit  by  the  school's  instructioR,  and  al   tit 


202    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

year's  end  to  move  it  along,  that  its  members  may  be 
properly  grouped  for  the  new  year  and  that  room 
may  be  made  for  the  others  coming  on. 

(c)  Promotion  Day  Suggestions. — With  the  policy 
of  no  demotions  should  go  an  earnest  effort  in  each 
department  to  bring  every  pupil  up  to  the  line,  with 
the  assignment  of  extra  honour  work  for  those  able 
to  carry  it.  Credits  should  be  given  throughout  the 
year  in  the  classes  for  work  done,  with  monthly  re- 
ports to  parents  of  attendance,  lesson  work  finished 
and  other  items  as  deemed  vital.  If  this  has  been 
done,  it  will  be  easier  to  insist  on  lost  work  being 
made  up  before  the  pupil  is  ready  to  move  on  to  the 
next  grade.  Honour  work,  especially  in  the  junior 
department,  is  usually  given  public  credit  at  com- 
mencement in  connection  with  the  pupil's  promotion. 

Other  suggestions  for  the  conduct  of  Promotion 
Day  and  for  work  during  the  year  which  will  tend 
to  its  success  may  be  thus  summarized : 

(i)  In  the  main  school  assembly,  advertise  the 
grades  during  the  year ;  sometimes  by  dismissing  one 
grade  after  another,  beginning  with  the  higher  grades, 
sometimes  by  asking  one  grade  to  answer  a  question 
or  read  a  passage,  and  again  by  references  to  what  a 
particular  grade  is  studying.  This  stimulates  graded 
ambition  and  encourages  the  pupils  to  look  forward 
to  gaining  a  grade  at  promotion,  even  though  at  the 
cost  of  changing  teachers. 

(2)  In  a  large  school  only  the  names  should  be 
read  which  are  promoted  from  the  roll  of  one  de- 
partment to  that  of  the  next ;  with  mention  of 
honours.  In  a  small  school  it  will  be  possible  to  read 
the  whole  graded  roll  as  it  stands  for  the  new  year. 


THE  YEARLY  PEOGRAM  203 

(3)  Promote  from  the  top  down.  Announce  first 
those  entering  the  young  people's  department  from 
the  senior,  then  those  intermediates  who  become 
seniors,  and  so  on,  finishing  with  the  cradle  roll  mem- 
bers who  have  become  beginners  during  the  year. 

(4)  Handle  each  department  differently.  It  is 
easy  to  disgust  the  older  pupils  with  "  baby  work." 
In  all  cases  let  the  pupils  of  the  department  to  which 
the  promoted  pupils  go  have  a  hand  in  the  work  of 
welcoming  them. 

(5)  Interesting  programs  have  been  prepared  for 
use  by  the  principals  of  the  juvenile  departments  on 
Promotion  Day.  These  will  usually  need  pruning, 
to  keep  the  whole  exercise  within  limits  and  allow  of 
the  necessary  general  announcements.  Give  each 
department  its  time  allowance  and  see  that  it  is  ob- 
served. 

(6)  In  welcoming  the  new  juniors  from  the  pri- 
mary department,  the  school  should  present  each  with 
a  small  but  clear-print  Bible,  American  Standard 
Version,  suitably  inscribed.  This  provides  him  with 
his  text-book  for  the  work  of  the  first  year  junior 
lessons,  standardizes  the  school's  Bible  supply,  adver- 
tises \he  school  to  all  his  friends  and  takes  the  place 
of  the  useless  giving  of  Bibles  at  Christmas.  Later, 
as  a  senior,  he  will  need  a  reference  Bible ;  not  now. 

(7)  Before  closing,  each  principal  should  have  an 
opportunity  to  explain  to  his  department  as  to  the 
new  courses  which  begin  on  the  following  Sunday. 
The  teachers  will  have  received  their  pupil's  and 
teacher's  books  at  least  three  Sundays  before.  The 
best  way  to  insure  this  opportunity  will  be  to  dis- 
miss the  departments  to  their  separate  rooms. 

(8)  Promotion  Sunday  should  be  clearly  dis- 
tinguished from  Rally  Day.  The  former  is  a  family 
affair  of  the  school,  to  which  guests  may  be  invited, 
but  in  which  the  school's  educational  needs  have  the 
right  of  way.    Rally  Day  is  a  public  gathering  of  all 


204    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

Sunday-school  members  and  friends,  old  and  new,  to 
emphasize  the  duty  of  regular  attendance  through- 
out the  year.  It  is  best  held  several  Sundays  later. 
The  need  for  any  such  occasion,  with  its  high-pres- 
sure advertising,  is  a  significant  sign  of  our  low  edu- 
cational status.  Go-to-Sunday-school  Day,  empha- 
sized in  some  fields,  is  a  still  more  popular  affair,  be- 
ing an  appeal  to  the  whole  community.  This  should 
come  later  still. 


3.     Appointments  and  Installations. 

(a)  The  Principle. — Following  the  problem  of 
making  up  the  new  graded  roll  and  carrying  it  into 
effect  through  promotions  will  come  the  kindred 
problem  of  the  recasting  of  the  teaching  force.  How 
shall  the  administration  set  back  the  organization  to 
the  form  it  had  one  year  ago,  improve  and  enlarge  it 
where  advisable,  fill  every  vacancy,  strengthen  every 
weak  place,  locate  each  worker  where  he  can  do  his 
best  for  the  school,  and  equip  and  inspire  the  whole 
force  for  better  service  ? 

In  connection  with  the  problems  of  upper-grade 
teaching,  the  annual  appointment  of  teachers  has  al- 
ready been  discussed.'  The  same  method  should  be 
used  with  the  teaching  and  staff  forces  of  all  the  de- 
partments. 

If  the  school  is  not  already  committed  to  the  prin- 
ciple that  no  class  owns  its  teacher  and  no  depart- 
ment its  principal  or  assistants,  but  that  every  mem- 
ber of  the  teaching  force  is  subject  to  appointment 
where  his  service  will  be  of  greatest  good  to  the 
school,  it  should  be  led  to  that  position  and  com- 
'  Chapter  IV,  6c. 


THE  YEAELY  PEOGRAM  205 

mitted  to  it  as  a  permanent  policy.  Every  Methodist 
minister  is  subject  to  the  appointment  of  his  con- 
ference. Every  Moravian  minister  takes  his  ordina- 
tion subject  to  the  right  of  his  church  to  send  him 
anywhere,  to  a  home  field  or  to  some  lonely  post  on 
the  "  far-flung  battle  line  "  of  that  heroic  communion. 
The  church  schools  that  have  resolutely  applied  the 
appointment  principle,  in  place  of  the  old  notion 
that  we  dare  not  interfere  between  a  class  and  its 
beloved  teacher,  have  found  it  both  workable  and 
popular.  Wise  management  will  of  course  take  due 
note  of  personal  and  class  preferences  and  will  meet 
these  as  far  as  school  interests  will  allow. 

(b)  Method  of  Application. — The  general  issue  as 
to  annual  appointments  should  be  raised  and  settled, 
with  the  mode  of  operation,  early  in  the  year.  The 
only  open  matter  as  commencement  approaches  will 
then  be  the  various  personal  applications  of  the  prin- 
ciple. Appointments  should  be  announced  as  far 
ahead  of  Promotion  Sunday  as  the  school's  seasonal 
calendar  will  permit,  to  allow  the  new  appointees 
time  for  advance  study  of  their  assigned  lesson 
courses.  The  resolutions  by  which  the  principle  is 
adopted  should  also  indicate  the  authority  that  is  to 
make  the  appointments  and  when  they  are  to  be  an- 
nounced. 

The  following  form  of  resolutions  is  suggested: 

(i)  Every  divisional,  departmental  and  class  posi- 
tion in  the  teaching  force  of  this  school,  including 
principalships,  staff  and  assistant  positions  and  teach- 
ers' chairs,  shall  henceforth  be  filled  by  annual  ap- 
pointment. 


206    CHUKCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

(2)  Appointments  to  these  positions  shall  be  an- 
nounced on  the  Sunday  next  before  Promotion  Sun- 
day (on  Commencement  Day  if  that  is  held  in  June), 
by  the  pastor,  or  in  his  absence  by  the  superintendent. 

(3)  Appointments  shall  be  made  by  a  board  of 
appointments,  consisting  of  the  pastor,  the  director 
of  religious  education,  the  superintendent,  the  di- 
visional and  departmental  principals  and  the  church 
committee  on  religious  education  (or  other  central 
educational  authority). 

(4)  Each  principal  shall  submit  to  the  board  his 
recommendations  for  the  positions  of  his  department 
and  shall  be  consulted  as  to  any  changes  in  these 
which  the  board  may  deem  needful  for  the  common 
good.  Temporary  appointments  and  the  filling  of 
vacancies  arising  during  the  year  shall  continue  to 
be  made  as  heretofore  provided.  (If  by  principals, 
so  specify.) 

(5)  Principals,  staff  officers  and  teachers,  when 
newly  appointed  to  the  force,  must  first  be  confirmed 
as  eligible  to  appointment  in  the  manner  now  pro- 
vided.    (Specify  how.) 

(6)  No  teacher  shall  be  transferred  with  his  or 
her  class  to  the  next  higher  department,  unless  at  the 
request  of  the  director  of  education  and  the  prin- 
cipals of  both  the  departments  concerned. 

(7)  Requests  for  the  return  of  teachers  or  other 
appointees  to  their  former  places  may  be  considered 
by  the  board  only  after  the  appointee  has  filled  the 
new  place  for  at  least  two  Sundays. 

(8)  Teachers  and  others  left  without  appointment 
shall  remain  on  the  roll  of  the  workers'  council  as 
reserves  for  vacancies  and  for  service  as  substitutes 
and  on  committees. 


(c)  Installations. — On  Promotion  Sunday  if  there 
is  time,  or  on  the  following  Sunday,  or,  still  better, 


THE  YEAELY  PEOGRAM  207 

at  the  pulpit  service  of  the  church  on  either  of  these 
days,  should  be  held  a  brief  service  of  installation 
for  the  offigers  and  members  of  the  teaching  force. 
It  is  not  desirable  that  this  shall  be  elaborate  and 
"preachy";  nor  is  there  need  of  a  prepared  form 
other  than  such  as  any  pastor  should  be  able  to  write 
for  the  school.  The  service  will  include  an  appro- 
priate hymn;  a  roll-call  of  the  principals  and  their 
staffs,  with  the  names  of  the  teachers  at  the  same 
time  or  in  a  separate  call ;  the  gathering  of  all  at  the 
desk  or  pulpit  as  their  names  are  called;  suitable 
brief  Scriptural  selections,  with  or  without  responses 
provided  to  be  made  by  the  appointees;  a  pledge  to 
faithfulness;  a  verse  or  two  of  exhortation;  and  a 
closing  prayer  and  benediction. 

4.    The  General  Officers'  Year. 

(a)  When  Shall  This  Begin? — The  school  has  a 
business  year  as  well  as  an  educational  year.  This 
also  must  be  punctuated  with  care,  that  it  may  con- 
stitute for  each  officer  a  definite  trust,  to  be  annually 
reported  on  and  its  results  compared  with  the  goals 
and  carried  to  the  records. 

It  is  not  necessary,  and  it  is  seldom  desirable,  that 
the  school's  educational  year  and  its  business  year 
should  agree.  We  begin  our  personal  year  on  the 
first  of  Januaiy,  our  business  year  whenever  it  suits 
us  to  close  our  books,  and  our  church  year,  in  most 
bodies,  on  the  first  of  April  or  at  Easter.  It  is  with 
this  church  year,  rather  than  with  the  graded  lesson 
year^  that  we  should  begin  and  close  the  official  year 
of  the  church's  school  of  religion.    If  this  comes  in 


208    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

April,  a  new  administration  will  have  no  more  time 
than  it  needs  to  prepare  for  the  opening  of  all  depart- 
ments on  a  standard  scale  of  efficiency  by  the  first 
Sunday  of  October, 

(b)  Elections  and  Appointments. — Following  the 
principles  already  laid  down  as  to  official  appoint- 
ments/ the  church,  through  its  committee  on  re- 
ligious education  or  its  highest  governing  body,  will 
nominate  the  superintendent,  assure  itself  informally 
of  his  acceptability  to  the  workers'  council,  and  pre- 
sent his  name  to  that  body  for  consideration  and  elec- 
tion at  its  meeting  next  before  the  close  of  the 
school's  business  year.  The  newly  elected  superin- 
tendent, then  or  at  the  next  meeting,  will  nominate 
the  members  of  his  executive  staff — associate,  secre- 
tary, chorister  and  librarian, — and  the  council  in 
like  manner  will  elect  them  and  receive  and  confirm 
their  appointments  to  the  various  subordinate  posi- 
tions. 

Responsibility  for  making  this  process  a  means  for 
avoiding  friction,  eliminating  inefficiency  and  secur- 
ing each  year  a  stronger  and  better  organized  corps 
of  administrative  officers  will  rest  with  the  chairman 
of  the  workers'  council,  who  is  presumably  the  pas- 
tor. He  must  see  that  opportunity  is  given  for  frank 
questioning  of  the  wisdom  of  any  of  these  appoint- 
ments, that  due  regard  is  had  to  the  principle  of  pro- 
motion for  efficient  service,  and  that  each  appointing 
officer  accepts  full  responsibility  for  the  training  and 
faithfulness  of  his  subordinates,  and  for  the  accept- 
ance of  any  who  may  not  be  present  when  elected. 
*  Chapter  II,  3c;  7. 


THE  YEAELY  PEOGEAM  209 

He  will  also  enforce  whatever  rules  the  church  may- 
have  as  to  the  eligibility  of  new  appointees. 

(c)  Installations. — On  the  first  Sunday  of  the 
school's  administrative  year,  preferably  in  the  pulpit 
service,  the  new  officers  should  be  installed  in  the 
same  general  manner  as  the  teaching  force,  but  with 
the  use  of  a  varied  selection  of  Scripture  and  song 
and  a  different  pledge  and  exhortation. 

(d)  Annual  Reports. — Every  officer  in  the  super- 
intendent's cabinet  should  make  to  him  an  annual  re- 
port, covering  whatever  items  he  may  call  for.  These 
should  be  in  hand  in  time  to  enable  the  superintendent 
to  utilize  them  in  the  preparation  of  his  report  to  the 
church  at  its  annual  meeting.  They  should  include 
statistics  of  resource,  operation  and  result,  with  such 
facts  as  may  show  the  value  of  the  work  and  the 
profitableness  of  the  church's  investments  therein. 
All  reports  should  be  in  writing. 

The  treasurer's  report,  while  properly  made  to  the 
workers'  council  as  disbursing  body  of  the  school, 
should  be  submitted  in  duplicate  to  the  superintendent 
with  the  other  reports,  as  he  will  need  the  informa- 
tion it  contains.  Reports  of  the  department  prin- 
cipals and  the  other  special  departments,  home, 
teacher-training,  etc.,  may  also  be  called  for,  to  show 
what  the  school  is  now  doing  and  what  results  of  the 
year's  work  have  been  noted  so  far. 

Digesting  these,  with  his  own  record  of  service, 
into  one  clear,  specific  and  carefully  condensed  story, 
the  superintendent  will  prepare  the  annual  report  of 
the  school.  He  will  in  this  make  mention  of  note- 
>vorthy  records  of  faithfulness  in  service  and  will 


210    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMTNISTEATION 

endeavour  to  voice  the  school's  administrative  ideals. 
If  the  church  has  a  director  of  education,  he  may 
make  a  separate  report  or  let  the  educational  work 
of  the  school  be  reported  by  the  superintendent,  as 
may  be  mutually  agreed  on.  Any  officer's  report  may 
be  presented  separately  if  the  superintendent  and  his 
advisers  so  agree.  All  these  reports  may  vi^ell  be 
laid  first  before  the  workers'  council  for  discussion, 
amendment  and  approval,  before  presentation  to  the 
church. 

5.    The  Annual  Budget. 

Attached  to  the  superintendent's  annual  report  to 
the  church  should  be  his  budget  of  estimated  needs 
for  the  new  year.  This  indeed  should  better  be  pre- 
pared in  time  for  previous  consideration  by  the 
church  trustees  or  other  authorities,  that  they  may 
be  enabled  to  incorporate  its  total  in  their  church 
budget  for  submission  to  the  meeting.  The  super- 
intendent's report  will  then  be  a  speech  in  defense  of 
the  school's  asking;  and  if  the  trustees  have  scaled 
down  his  estimate,  he  will  be  in  position  to  plead  for 
the  original  figure. 

In  preparing  the  budget,  the  experience  of  the 
present  year  should  first  be  carefully  studied  by 
means  of  the  treasurer's  report,  the  file  of  bills  pay- 
able if  any,  stocks  on  hand,  and  other  facts  available. 
Each  officer  and  principal  should  then  be  consulted 
and  asked  to  submit  his  needs  for  the  year  ensuing. 
A  finance  committee  of  the  council  may  then  digest 
these,  compare  them  with  the  offset  resources  and 
with  the  giving  power  of  the  school,  and  make  out 


THE  YEARLY  PEOGEAM  211 

the  list  of  appropriations,  to  be  confirmed  or  revised 
in  accordance  with  the  action  of  the  church  at  its 
annual  meeting. 

In  defending  his  budget  before  the  trustees  of  the 
church,  the  superintendent  may,  if  he  pleases,  use  the 
weekly  offerings  of  the  school  as  a  sHding  scale  with 
which  to  adjust  the  financial  weight  of  his  proposal 
to  what  the  church  will  bear.  It  is  manifest  wisdom 
educationally  to  train  the  pupils — all  the  pupils,  not 
merely  those  whose  parents  are  church  attendants 
and  contributors — to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
church  which  sustains  the  school.  Be  the  parish 
never  so  wealthy  and  so  interested  in  missions  and 
benevolences,  the  school  should  at  least  once  a  quar- 
ter make  an  offering  for  the  support  of  our  church 
and  should  understand  what  it  is  doing.  If  the 
church  is  poor  and  needs  all  that  the  school  can  raise, 
the  figures  may  be  reversed,  with  a  missionary  or 
benevolent  offering  once  a  quarter;  and  between 
these  any  proportion  of  Sundays  may  be  taken  that 
will  suit  the  situation.  Then,  with  his  offer  already 
ratified  by  council  action,  the  superintendent  may 
challenge  the  church  to  take  up  the  support  of  their 
own  school,  promising  in  return  that  the  school  will 
stand  by  the  church,  and  that  neither  this  year  nor 
in  the  future  will  the  church  be  the  loser  by  its  pres- 
ent generosity. 

6.     The  Festival  Calendar. 

(a)  Forestall  Worry. — At  certain  seasons  in  our 
community  life,  especially  among  the  children,  the 
festival  spirit  is  in  the  air.    Woe  to  the  superinten- 


212    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

dent  whom  the  advent  of  this  spirit  takes  unawares ! 
To  some  leaders  Christmas  is  a  nightmare  and  a 
year-long  worry;  to  others  it  is  a  precious  oppor- 
''tunity.  The  way  to  the  latter  attitude  is  through  a 
year-long  plan  of  festival  preparations,  with  due  re- 
gard to  educational  principles  of  festival  observance. 

Some  church  schools  follow  the  Christian  year  in 
their  observances.  Others  take  the  popular  sequence 
of  Easter,  Children's  Day,  Rally  Day  and  Christmas ; 
with  Mothers'  Day,  Thanksgiving  and  other  minor 
festivals  in  between.  Whichever  we  use,  it  is  pos- 
sible so  to  unite  these  with  the  weekly  life  of  the 
school  that  the  whole  shall  form  one  educational, 
spiritual  and  social  enterprise,  each  part  contributing 
to  the  success  of  the  other. 

(b)  Departmentalize. — Many  of  our  Christmas 
difficulties  disappear  automatically  when  the  school  is 
handled  by  departments.  Where  the  department 
meets  in  its  separate  room,  recognition  of  all  but  the 
most  significant  festivals  should  be  left  with  the  de- 
partment principal.  The  interests  and  habits  of  the 
beginners  and  primary  children  are  so  distinct  from 
those  of  the  older  ones  that  a  separate  observance 
by  these  of  the  social  features  of  all  festivals  is  en- 
tirely in  order.  This  is  now  the  usual  plan  in  the 
larger  schools. 

Once  a  quarter,  or  at  the  major  seasons  of  the 
Christian  year,  the  whole  school  should  assemble  on 
Sunday  for  its  united  festival  worship.  The  begin- 
ners may  march  in  with  the  others,  take  their  part 
in  the  program,  and  soon  after  retire  to  their  room 
for  their  own  story  and  worship.     This  experience 


THE  YEARLY  PROGEAM  213 

of  the  visible  unity  of  the  school  will  persist  in  the 
memories  of  even  the  smallest  children  until  the  next 
festival  and  will  render  quite  unnecessary  that 
weekly  sacrifice  of  departmental  separateness  on 
which  some  superintendents  unfortunately  still  in- 
sist. 

(c)  Use  the  Young  Folks. — While  the  Sunday 
festival  observances  are  part  of  the  year's  educational 
program,  to  be  handled  under  the  director's  lead,  with 
the  best  efforts  of  superintendent  and  chorister  to 
make  them  spiritually  effective,  the  week-day  and 
evening  occasions  are  part  of  the  social  and  recrea- 
tional program.  These,  too,  contribute  to  the  edu- 
cational program  indirectly.  Much  of  their  potential 
educational  value  is  lost  when  the  school  fails  to 
make  them  as  far  as  possible  enterprises  planned  and 
carried  out  by  the  young  people. 

Busy  as  the  young  folks  are,  they  can  generally 
find  time  for  real  enterprises  that  appeal  to  them  as 
large  and  worth  while,  and  in  which  they  can  be  hap- 
pily associated  together.  A  young  people's  depart- 
ment, or  two  classes  working  together,  with  the  boys 
and  girls  helping  as  needed  and  next  time  doing  it 
themselves,  can  with  very  little  supervision  from  the 
adult  leaders  "  put  over  "  a  first-class  Christmas  en- 
tertainment for  the  whole  school,  and  will  gain  in 
character  and  leadership  power  thereby.  But  they 
must  be  given  ample  time  for  preparation,  hearty  co- 
operation, sympathy  and  appreciation  and  a  reason- 
ably free  hand. 

(d)  Use  the  Graded  Work. — Each  department 
should  be  encouraged  to  take  its  turn  in  contributing 


214    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

to  the  festival  program.  Instead  of  having  some- 
thing from  each  department  every  time,  let  the  pri- 
mary department  favour  the  school  with  something 
good  this  quarter,  the  juniors  something  better  next 
time,  and  so  on.  This  may  apply  both  to  the  Sun- 
day observance  and  to  the  evening  entertainment. 
The  aim  set  before  the  participants  should  be  to  make 
the  platform  work  as  far  as  possible  a  sample  or  an 
outgrowth  of  the  matters  it  has  learned  or  become 
interested  in.  This  cannot  always  be  done;  but 
whenever  it  is  done  it  should  be  especially  com- 
mended. Meaningless  recitations  given  in  parrot 
fashion  by  single  children,  and  didactic  platitudes  in 
dialogue  form,  testify  to  the  poverty  of  the  depart- 
ment's educational  program. 

At  the  outset  of  the  quarter,  in  a  junior  or  inter- 
mediate department,  the  principal  may  designate 
some  of  the  work  as  festival  material,  to  be  dram- 
atized, pictured  in  pageant  or  tableau  form,  or  pre- 
sented through  selected  essays  or  narratives,  or  a 
jointly  worked  out  exhibition  of  models  and  maps. 
A  platform  map  exercise,  if  well  rehearsed,  is  al- 
ways impressive.  Where  drill-work  on  the  Bible 
books  has  been  done,  it  may  be  exhibited  by  ques- 
tion and  answer;  some  honour  pupil  acting  as  inter- 
locutor. If  the  rest  of  the  entertainment  is  bright 
and  snappy,  an  interlude  of  serious  material,  well 
and  strikingly  presented,  will  heighten  and  not  mar 
the  success  of  the  show.  The  festival  thus  adds  zest 
to  the  lessons  and  aids  in  securing  home  study  and 
parental  interest. 

(e)  Make  the  Music  Count. — The  Sunday  festival 


THE  YEAELY  PEOGEAM  216 

observances  may  also  be  made  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
general  progress  of  the  school.  The  worship  pro- 
gram, instead  of  being  accepted  ready-made  from 
the  missionary  or  Sunday-school  headquarters  of  the 
denomination  or  bought  of  a  music  house,  should  be 
worked  out  by  the  leader  and  the  chorister  and 
printed  in  outline  for  the  use  of  school,  participants 
and  congregation.  Following  the  order  of  worship 
should  come  the  school's  story  of  its  quarter's  work, 
with  honours  and  announcements.  The  festival  thus 
advertises  the  school,  at  less  cost  than  is  usually  in- 
curred by  the  use  of  purchased  orders  of  service. 

During  the  months  preceding  the  festival,  the 
music  needed  for  the  program  should  be  introduced 
and  sung  in  the  weekly  sessions  of  the  school,  with 
special  selections  learned  by  the  departments  and  per- 
haps by  a  chorus  or  quartet.  If  a  properly  educational 
hymnal  is  in  use,  it  will  be  easy  to  select  and  learn 
the  hymns  to  be  sung  by  the  school.  The  responsive 
reading  can  also  be  taken  from  the  hymnal,  or  spe- 
cially provided.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  infringe 
copyright  by  reprinting  copyrighted  hymns  without 
permission.  If  the  book  supply  is  what  it  should  be, 
this  will  not  be  necessary. 

In  some  schools  a  certain  hymn  is  always  sung  at 
Christmas  as  that  school's  Christmas  hymn;  and  so 
with  other  seasons.  The  associations  thus  established 
remain  through  life  and  help  to  fix  religion  as  a  part 
of  character. 

7.    Picnics  and  Outings. 

The   Sunday-school  picnic  has  a   high  historical 


216    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

value.  It  is  the  testimony  of  our  predecessors  to 
their  belief  in  social  fellowship  and  the  physical  side 
of  religious  education.  The  recent  developments  in 
organized  class  life  and  club  activities  for  boys  and 
girls  should  never  be  suffered  to  overshadow  the 
great  day  when  pastor,  superintendent  and  other  dig- 
nitaries meet  all  ages  and  social  classes  on  the  play 
level  and  show  what  they  can  do.  It  is  a  question 
whether  a  man  is  fit  to  superintend  a  Sunday  school 
who  does  not  enjoy  the  annual  picnic  and  cannot 
see  wherein  it  may  be  made  a  means  of  grace. 

Not  all  picnics,  indeed,  are  entitled  to  such  a  rating. 
The  centrifugal  forces  of  the  occasion  are  strong. 
Family  and  clique  parties  tend  to  get  together,  ignor- 
ing the  crowd.  Young  folks  who  should  be  think- 
ing of  others  go  off  in  squads,  or  two  by  two.  The 
burdens  of  the  day  are  borne  by  the  faithful  few. 
Against  these  tendencies  there  should  be  worked  out 
a  plan  of  centralization  that  will  distribute  the  re- 
sponsibilities and  keep  the  crowd  attracted  together 
for  at  least  half  the  day,  leaving  a  reasonable  amount 
of  free  time  for  those  desiring  to  organize  their  own 
company.  Here,  as  at  the  Christmas  festival,  the 
young  people  should  be  challenged  to  take  charge  of 
the  social  and  athletic  features  on  behalf  of  the  school 
as  a  whole. 

Department  picnics  and  outings  have  a  special 
value,  bringing  together  as  they  do  the  children  of 
like  age  and  their  teachers  and  developing  in  the  de- 
partment the  spirit  of  fellowship  and  team  play.  The 
tasks  of  the  graded  lessons  will  not  seem  so  hard  to 
accomplish,  if  asked  for  by  teachers  who  can  lead  x| 


THE  YEAELY  PBOOEAM  217 

fine  games  and  are  willing  to  spend  a  fatiguing  day 
in  giving  pleasure  to  others.  For  a  department  with 
no  separate  room,  the  department  picnic  or  excursion 
is  an  invaluable  invigorator  of  department  spirit. 
But  under  all  conditions,  there  is  room  in  the  sum- 
mer's program  for  one  general  picnic  or  excursion 
and  another  outing  for  every  department  and  organ- 
ized class. 

8.     The  Ordering  of  Supplies. 

In  a  well-managed  church  school  every  material 
need  will  be  fully  met  at  all  times.  Year  after  year, 
without  breaks  and  need  of  explanations,  teachers 
and  classes  will  receive  the  right  text-books  and  pa- 
pers on  the  right  Sundays.  Festival,  financial  and 
secretarial  supplies  will  arrive  in  time  for  scheduled 
use.  Hymnals  and  Bibles  needing  rebinding  will 
drop  out  of  sight  before  loose  pages  are  gone  and 
from  time  to  time  will  reappear  in  new  dress  or  be 
replaced.  Broken  chairs  and  tables  will  be  attended 
to.  Erasers  and  crayons  will  be  found  in  good  con- 
dition where  they  belong.  The  little  jolts  that  slow 
down  a  school's  educational  efficiency  will  be  fore- 
stalled by  rules,  organization  and  adequate  budget 
provision  for  upkeep  and  renewal. 

Traditionally,  the  secretary  is  purchasing  agent  for 
the  Sunday  school.  It  certainly  conduces  to  order 
and  system  for  all  supplies  to  be  ordered  by  one  of- 
ficer, except  as  may  be  provided  for  by  giving  the 
department  principals  allowances  for  incidentals, 
which  should  always  be  done.  But  back  of  the  agent 
should  be  a  purchasing  system,  audited  by  the  super- 


218    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

intendent  or  his  associate  and  operating  under  a  few 
simple  rules,  such  as : 


(i)  Principals  shall  place  with  the  secretary  their 
yearly  orders  for  graded  supplies  not  less  than  six 
weeks  before  the  first  Sunday  of  the  lesson  year. 
(Change  number  of  weeks  to  fit  time  required  for 
sending  orders  and  receiving  shipments.) 

(2)  Changes  in  quantities  desired  shall  be  reported 
to  the  secretary  three  weeks  before  the  first  Sunday 
of  each  quarter. 

(3)  Supplies  for  principals  and  teachers,  including 
one  each  of  teacher's  book  and  pupil's  book  or  paper 
for  grades  covered,  shall  be  delivered  to  departments 
on  the  third  Sunday  before  date  of  first  lesson. 

(4)  Supplies  for  pupils  shall  be  delivered  on  the 
Sunday  before  date  of  first  lesson. 

(5)  Principals  shall  retain  full  sets  of  the  books 
used  in  their  departments. 

(6)  Teachers'  books  not  purchased  by  teachers 
shall  be  returned  to  the  secretary  (or  librarian)  at  the 
end  of  each  quarter,  together  with  all  left-over  pupils' 
books. 

(7)  Before  ordering  new  supplies,  the  secretary 
shall  ascertain  how  much  of  next  quarter's  needs  can 
be  met  out  of  stock  on  hand. 

(8)  All  orders  for  graded  supplies  and  for  peri- 
odicals shall  first  be  approved  by  the  director  of  edu- 
cation and  the  superintendent  (or  associate  acting  as 
comptroller  of  the  budget). 

(9)  The  librarian  shall  be  responsible  for  the  con- 
dition of  the  hymnals,  Bibles  and  library  books.  He 
shall  promptly  remove  from  use  all  loose  and  dam- 
aged books  and  shall  hold  classes  responsible  for 
damage  beyond  ordinary  wear  and  tear.  He  shall 
from  time  to  time,  as  needed,  submit  to  the  superin- 
tendent proposals  for  rebinding  or  renewal  of  book 


THE  YEAELY  PEOGEAM  219 

supplies  and  for  the  purchase  of  new  books  for  the 
library. 

(lo)  The  associate  shall  be  responsible  for  the  con- 
dition of  furniture,  blackboards,  maps,  pictures  and 
similar  equipment.  Proposals  of  purchases  of  this 
class  of  supplies  shall  be  made  to  the  superintendent 
through  him ;  also  proposals  for  repairs  and  replace- 
ments as  needed. 

(ii)  In  the  weekly  handling  and  the  periodic  in- 
spection and  checking  of  supplies  the  officers  con- 
cerned shall  encourage  and  organize  the  cooperation 
of  pupils,  transferring  to  them  so  far  as  seems  wise 
the  responsibility  for  the  service. 

(12)  No  bill  for  supplies  shall  be  paid  without  the 
superintendent's  written  approval ;  and  no  bill  ex- 
ceeding the  budget  appropriation  for  the  department 
or  item  concerned  shall  be  approved  or  paid  without 
the  vote  of  the  workers'  council,  which  shall  include 
a  transfer  of  credit  to  cover  the  expenditure  so  voted. 


9.    The  Workers'  Conference  Calendar. 

If  the  monthly  workers'  conference  is  to  be  made 
something  more  than  a  perfunctory  business  meeting, 
it  must  have  a  calendar  of  topics  for  the  year.  These 
may  properly  be  planned  by  a  committee,  the  superin- 
tendent assisting.  The  topics  should  be  seasonal, 
bringing  up  each  month  for  study  and  discussion, 
perhaps  for  action,  whatever  can  most  appropriately 
be  considered  at  that  time.  How  to  make  the  sum- 
mer sessions  successful,  for  instance,  would  be  in 
order  for  May,  while  there  was  still  time  during  June 
to  act  on  the  suggestions  brought  out  in  the  discus- 
sion. The  calendar  should  be  printed  or  posted  on 
the  school's  bulletin-board. 


220    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

10.     Finding  Time  for  All  This. 

How  shall  the  superintendent  find  in  his  busy  week 
the  necessary  time  for  all  these  items  of  preparation 
and  performance  ? 

(a)  Fix  a  Routine. — The  only  way  to  do  this  is  to 
establish  a  weekly  routine.  Complete  organization 
saves  labour,  in  that  it  relieves  the  superintendent  of 
much  that  he  would  otherwise  himself  have  to  do. 
But  it  brings  with  it  duties  of  inspection,  consultation 
and  supervision;  and  to  build  the  organization  and 
keep  it  up  is  itself  a  heavy  labour.  Besides  the  work 
of  the  session  hour,  the  leader  must  set  himself  a 
series  of  preparatory  tasks  and  must  resolutely  set 
apart  the  time  necessary  for  performing  them. 

The  weekly  work  of  the  superintendent  may  be  di- 
vided into  seven  parts.  We  may  call  them  his  seven 
hours ;  but  only  the  last  need  be  an  hour  long,  nor  will 
they  necessarily  come  on  the  seven  days  of  the  week. 
He  is  more  likely  to  despatch  the  first  three  by  Sun- 
day night.  The  more  fixed  and  unbroken  the  rou- 
tine, the  easier  it  will  be  to  maintain  it  against  inter- 
ruption, and  the  freer  the  leader  will  be  to  put  into 
his  seven  hours  whatever  the  changing  needs  of  his 
school  may  require. 

(b)  The  Seven  Hours. — As  thus  defined,  the  seven 
hours  will  be : 

(i)  The  Survey  Hour.  As  soon  as  possible 
after  the  platform  hour  the  superintendent  must  ex- 
amine the  records  of  the  day's  work  and  determine 
what  they  tell  as  to  the  condition  of  the  school  and 
the  conduct  and  performance  of  its  members.  Some 
of  these  records  he  may  be  able  to  see  during  the 


THE  YEARLY  PEOGEAM  221 

lesson  hour.  Whatever  records  he  needs  as  manager 
to  inspect  he  will  arrange  with  the  proper  officials  to 
have  put  into  his  hands.  He  will  provide  for  the 
prompt  return  of  these.  He  will  train  one  of  the 
young  people  to  act  as  his  personal  secretary,  to  make 
up  for  him  each  week  the  bundle  of  exhibits  he  is  to 
carry  home.  Some  of  these  records  this  secretary 
will  copy  into  the  superintendent's  note-book;  others 
he  will  put  in  his  bag,  while  the  chief  is  bidding 
teachers  and  pupils  farewell. 

(2)  The  Follow-up  Hour.  The  checking  up  of 
records  must  be  followed  up  by  action.  Members 
must  be  made  to  feel  that  the  leader  is  watching. 
Telephone  messages,  short  notes,  personal  words, 
brief  references  from  the  desk,  resolutions  intro- 
duced in  council — these  are  some  of  the  ways  through 
which  contact  can  be  had  with  the  force.  As  each 
department  comes  more  and  more  under  the  full  con- 
trol of  its  principal,  the  superintendent's  words  to  the 
workers  in  that  department  will  reach  them  through 
their  official  head. 

(3)  The  Constructive  Hour.  Early  in  the  week, 
before  the  urge  of  next  Sunday's  necessities  is  felt, 
should  regularly  come  an  hour  for  dealing  with  work 
beyond  the  next  session.  Only  by  the  faithful  main- 
tenance of  this  hour  can  the  element  of  progres- 
siveness  and  readiness  for  new  opportunity  be  devel- 
oped in  the  church  school.  Dull  sessions,  diminish- 
ing attendance  and  reliance  on  pins  and  other  arti- 
ficial devices  for  keeping  up  interest  usually  indicate 
the  absence  of  this  hour  from  the  leader's  routine. 

(4)  The  Study  Hour.  In  this  hour  the  superin- 
tendent will  make  personal  preparation  for  his  own 
work  in  the  next  session. 

(5)  The  Hour  of  Adjustment.  Somewhere,  late 
in  the  week,  there  must  be  a  time  for  adjusting  the 
supposed  perfection  of  next  Sunday's  arrangements 
to  the  facts  as  reported  by  telephone  or  otherwise.    A 


222    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

reserve  supply  of  teaching  and  leadership  must  al- 
ways be  within  call,  unless  these  worries  are  entirely 
in  another's  hands. 

(6)  The  Hour  of  Spiritual  Preparation.  The  su- 
perintendent is  a  leader  of  worship,  a  teacher  and  a 
manager.  He  must  handle  a  large  company  in  one 
crowded  hour,  with  many  distracting  cares.  He 
must  secure  for  his  platform  hour  an  educational 
unity  that  shall  impress  lives  and  build  character. 
His  week  will  surely  be  incomplete  if  it  fails  to  in- 
clude a  time  of  waiting  on  God  for  the  help  of  His 
presence  through  the  trying  hour  of  the  session. 

(7)  The  Platform  Hour.  Coming  as  the  outcome 
of  such  a  routine,  the  school's  platform  hour  cannot 
fail  to  make  its  due  impression. 

(c)  A  Constructive  Program. — As  a  docket  of 
business  for  his  constructive  hour,  the  superintendent 
may  find  help  in  this  list : 

(i)  The  Calendar.  Write  the  dates  of  the  Sun- 
days for  this  and  the  next  quarter,  and  against  these 
note  events,  seasons  and  topics  that  must  be  provided 
for.  Take  up  these  dates  for  planning  and  arrange- 
ment in  the  order  of  their  difficulty  and  importance. 

(2)  Future  Programs.  Make  a  full  plan  for  some 
Sunday  several  weeks  ahead,  and  enrich  it  with  the 
cooperation  of  others.  The  hand-to-mouth  superin- 
tendent cannot  get  people  to  read  or  sing  or  tell  a 
missionary  story,  because  he  knows  they  will  not  do 
so  on  three  days'  notice. 

(3)  Next  Meeting  of  the  Workers'  Council.  In 
addition  to  the  discussion  item  on  the  program  for  the 
year,  each  monthly  meeting  should  have  its  well- 
planned  docket ;  especially  if  the  superintendent  is  to 
run  it  from  the  floor,  with  the  pastor  as  moderator. 
The  docket  drafted,  reminders  to  officers  and  com- 


THE  YEAELY  PEOGRAM  223 

mittees  of  the  items  due  from  them  will  naturally 
follow. 

(4)  Committee  Work.  What  are  the  council  com- 
mittees doing?  Which  one  of  them  is  waiting  for 
that  set  of  instructions  that  the  superintendent  was  to 
draft  when  he  had  the  time? 

(5)  Officers'  Work.  In  his  survey  of  reports  the 
superintendent  no  doubt  saw  some  features  that  call 
for  permanent  improvements  and  rearrangements. 
One  of  these  may  now  be  worked  out  and  turned  over 
to  the  party  concerned. 

(6)  New  Organization.  Every  step  of  progress 
will  reveal  some  new  function  to  be  provided  for, 
either  by  increasing  the  duties  of  a  present  officer  or 
by  the  establishment  of  a  new  office  and  the  training 
of  a  new  worker. 

(7)  Community  Relations.  Not  sectarianism  or 
selfishness,  but  simply  lack  of  time  in  which  to  pay 
attention  to  notices  and  to  exchange  civilities,  is  the 
usual  explanation  of  the  isolation  of  a  Sunday  school 
from  the  life  of  its  Sunday-school  community.  No- 
tices from  the  county  secretary  and  other  correspond- 
ents should  be  laid  by  for  careful  attention  in  the 
weekly  planning  hour.  Plans  for  friendly  visits  with 
other  superintendents  may  be  made  at  this  time. 

Assignments 

la.  What  should  be  the  leader's  goal  for  next 
Sunday  ?    , 

lb.  When  should  your  school's  annual  commence- 
ment be  held?     Why  then? 

ic.  (i)  How  may  the  church  school  each  year  set 
its  goal  for  every  work?  (2)  What  gain  can  you  see 
in  a  school's  so  doing? 

2a.  How  does  a  well-kept  graded  roll  help  at  pro- 
motion time  ? 


224    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

2b.  Why  should  no  demoting  of  pupils  be  at- 
tempted ? 

2c.  Mention  some  of  the  gains  that  would  come 
or  have  come  to  your  school  through  a  Promotion 
Day  held  as  suggested. 

3a.  Why  is  a  school  weak  where  every  class  owns 
its  teacher  and  every  teacher  his  class  ? 

3b.  What  difficulties  are  met  and  overcome  when 
we  secure  in  advance  the  adoption  of  a  school  law 
governing  all  appointments? 

3c.  What  should  be  the  features  of  an  effective 
service  for  installing  church-school  teachers? 

4a.  With  what  other  year  should  the  business 
year  of  the  church  school  coincide  ?    Why  ? 

4b,  c.  How  should  the  school's  officers  be  elected 
and  installed? 

4d.  (i)  To  whom  should  the  chorister  make  his 
annual  report?  The  treasurer?  (2)  How  shall  the 
superintendent  prepare  his  report,  and  to  whom  shall 
it  be  submitted  ? 

5.  (i)  When  and  how  should  the  annual  budget 
of  church-school  expense  be  drafted?  (2)  How 
may  the  superintendent  get  its  total  accepted  by  the 
church  ? 

6a.  What  festivals  or  special  occasions  does  your 
school  annually  observe? 

6b.  (i)  How  should  festivals  be  departmental- 
ized? (2)  When,  in  your  judgment,  is  it  best  for  the 
entire  school  to  hold  its  festival  together  ? 

6c.  (i)  Why  lean  on  the  young  people  in  plan- 
ning for  festival  observances?  (2)  Under  what  con- 
ditions can  this  be  done  successfully? 


THE  TEAELY  PEOGEAM  226 

6d.  What  is  gained  when  the  graded  lesson  mate- 
rial or  other  parts  of  the  educational  program  are 
drawn  on  in  preparing  the  festival  program  ? 

6e.  How  may  the  music  of  the  regular  sessions 
and  of  the  festivals  be  combined,  to  the  advantage  of 
both? 

7.  Suggest  ways  by  which  the  picnic  may  be  made 
to  further  the  school's  educational  and  spiritual  plans. 

8.  What  are  the  main  features  of  a  supply  system 
that  will  keep  all  classes,  departments  and  lines  fully 
supplied  each  Sunday  and  all  bills  and  charges  cor- 
rectly made  and  paid  when  due? 

9.  Make  out  a  calendar  for  five  successive 
monthly  meetings  of  the  workers'  conference  in  your 
school. 

10a.  What  is  the  secret  of  finding  leadership 
time? 

lob.  What  are  the  seven  hours  or  periods  of  the 
superintendent's  week  of  work  for  the  school  ? 

IOC.  Name  a  few  items  for  which  he  needs  the 
time  of  the  constructive  hour. 


THE  SCHOOL'S  RELIGION 

1.    A  School  of  Religion. 

What  shall  it  profit  a  church  school  if  it  grow  in 
numbers  and  popularity,  adopt  every  modern  method, 
listen  to  the  last  word  in  educational  science,  and  fail 
in  causing  its  pupils  to  walk  with  God?  How  this 
can  be  made  the  outcome  of  the  work  is  the  greatest 
of  the  administrator's  problems.  Everything  else  is 
but  a  step  on  the  way. 

(a)  Education  for  Holiness. — The  church  school  is 
first  of  all  a  school  of  religion.  Back  of  organiza- 
tion,  curriculum  and  method,  the  teaching  of  the 
Bible  and  the  work  of  conversion,  is  the  objective  of 
holiness,  the  life  conformed  to  the  likeness  of  Christ 
and  in  all  its  aspects  dedicated  to  God.  That  every 
pupil  may  grow  in  grace,  the  church  keeps  school. 
Other  objectives  are  mediate,  steps  on  the  way,  means 
of  grace  that  have  received  approval.  In  making 
much  of  them  we  do  well.  But  the  ultimate  end  is 
religion. 

(b)  Education  for  Service. — Holiness  comes  to  ex- 
pression in  love  to  God  and  love  to  man.  That  con- 
ception of  the  religious  life  that  seeks  holiness  in 
solitude  and  separation  from  human  society  is  untrue 
to  the  example  of  Christ.     He  did  seek  solitude  for 

226 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  22T 

communion  with  God;  but  He  used  the  strength  its 
hours  brought  in  better  and  fuller  service  to  human- 
ity. Our  educational  objective  must  be  neither  a 
selfish  individualistic  seeking  after  salvation  nor  a 
selfishly  motivated  satisfaction  in  having  influence, 
showing  power  for  service  and  widening  the  circle  of 
our  beneficiaries.  It  must  rather  be  such  a  love  for 
God  as  will  see  Him  in  all  His  works  and  all  His 
children  and  will  express  itself  in  conduct  and  service 
based  on  a  spirit  of  good-will  to  all.  It  is  thus,  and 
only  thus,  that  service  has  a  religious  value. 

(c)  Graded  Religion. — To  say  that  our  ultimate 
end  is  religion  is  very  far  from  saying  that  our  ulti- 
mate end  is  adult  religion.  That  indeed  was  the 
objective  of  most  of  the  Christian  nurture  of  fifty 
years  ago.  No  child  was  deemed  "  pious "  who 
could  not  tell  his  experience  of  sin  and  forgiveness  in 
the  language  of  adult  conversion.  Thanks  to  the 
vast  revelations  of  child-study,  the  application  of 
psychological  method  to  religion  and  our  growth  in 
reverence  for  personality,  we  now  see  that  every  age 
of  life  has  its  characteristic  religious  attitudes  and 
modes  of  expression,  and  that  our  ultimate  objective 
can  be  sought  and  approximately  realized  in  the  free 
and  natural  religion  of  child,  boy,  youth  and  man. 

Instead,  therefore,  of  seeking  to  anticipate  adult 
religious  experience  in  childhood,  we  should  rather 
labour  that  in  each  of  the  successive  stages  of  imma- 
turity the  genuine  religion  of  that  stage  may  fully 
appear.  It  will  soon  be  outgrown  and  replaced,  as 
we  hope,  by  the  type  of  religion  normal  to  the  next 
stage;  and  in  due  time  the  full-grown  man  will  have 


228    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINI9TEATION 

his  man's  religion.  The  frog,  as  Dr.  G.  Stanley  Hall 
has  reminded  us,  needs  neither  tail  nor  gills.  What 
he  needs  is  to  have  had  these  when  a  tadpole.  No 
more  does  the  tadpole  need  legs  and  lungs;  if  you 
were  to  graft  them  on  him  he  would  smother  and  die. 
Not  the  future  but  the  present  need  of  the  child  is 
the  law  of  the  school. 

2.     Child  Religion. 

(a)  Love  and  Obedience. — For  the  little  child,  re- 
ligious education  is  largely  concerned  with  the  train- 
ing of  the  emotions  and  the  will.  Our  task  is  to  lead 
him  to  God  as  his  loving  Father  and  to  establish  him 
as  a  happy  and  confident  child  of  God.  This  in- 
volves the  religious  interpretation  of  the  facts  of  life 
as  the  little  child  meets  them;  of  which  the  classic 
illustration  is  Jesus'  nature  lessons  on  the  Father's 
care.  As  sin,  estrangement  and  reconciliation 
through  forgiveness  are  among  the  facts  of  the  child's 
experience  in  the  home,  they  can  be  used  to  teach 
corresponding  facts  in  our  relation  with  God.  Christ 
as  the  Friend  of  sinners  and  the  Helper  of  all  in  need 
should  also  be  introduced.  The  natural  response  of 
gratitude  and  desire  to  please  the  loving  Father  may 
easily  be  evoked ;  and  its  expression  in  obedient  con- 
duct and  impulses  of  self-control  will  be  the  child's 
way  of  showing  his  religion. 

(6)  Child-Lessons  in  Religion. — In  the  standard 
graded  courses  of  lesson  stories  for  the  beginners' 
and  primary  departments,  with  their  accompanying 
pictures,  simple  texts  and  song  verses,  full  provision 
is  made  for  the  covering  of  this  ground  and  a  great 


THE  SCHOOL'S  KELIGION  229 

deal  more.  When  cooperation  from  the  homes  can 
also  be  secured,  and  when  the  teachers  have  caught 
the  spirit  of  their  assigned  tasks  and  have  made  the 
work  of  the  courses  thoroughly  their  own,  and  when 
rooms  and  equipment  and  pictures  make  good  teach- 
ing easy,  the  five  years  of  church-school  teaching  that 
lead  up  to  the  child's  ninth  year,  even  though  but  for 
an  hour  each  Sunday,  are  religious  education  indeed; 
and  their  influence  on  character  and  the  later  relig- 
ious experience  is  profound. 

(c)  The  Administrator's  Part. — It  is  therefore  the 
part  of  the  church-school  administration,  in  defense 
of  the  sacred  rights  of  childhood  to  a  good  start  in  re- 
ligious education,  to  face  the  question  of  whether  or 
not  courses  as  thus  outlined  are  actually  being  given, 
No  substitute  can  take  the  place  of  a  real  teaching  of 
real  religion.  Are  there  in  this  church  school  certain 
unsatisfactory  but  well-entrenched  conditions,  which 
no  one  has  had  the  courage  to  disturb  ?  Are  the  chil- 
dren in  consequence  being  fed,  year  after  year,  on 
religious  husks,  in  the  shape  of  words  without  child- 
significance,  or  false  and  futile  attempts  to  adapt 
kindergarten  material  without  understanding  of  the 
kindergarten  spirit  ?  Then  no  educational  excellence 
in  the  upper  grades  will  later  give  that  depth  of  re- 
ligious feeling  of  which  the  foundation  must  be  laid 
in  the  heart  of  the  little  child. 

(d)  Junior  Religion. — To  the  junior  child  religion 
is  first  and  last  a  matter  of  obedience.  Regulations, 
in  family  and  school,  of  that  free  and  outward- 
looking  life  that  tastes  so  good  and  goes  so  swiftly, 
form  a  conspicuous  part  of  his  experience.     Being 


230    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

good  means  to  do  what  one  is  asked  to  do  and  to 
have  one's  fun  strictly  within  the  limits  set  by  supe- 
rior authority.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  that  God 
should  be  to  him  the  great  Lawgiver.  The  fact  of 
sin  and  a  simple  setting  forth  of  God's  plan  of  re- 
demption in  Christ  as  our  Saviour  can  be  taught  and 
made  clear ;  and  the  response  of  penitence  for  sin  and 
a  genuine  struggle  against  temptation  is  as  normal  for 
the  junior  boy  and  girl  as  is  interest  in  David's  ex- 
ploits and  the  life  of  a  pioneer  missionary. 

These  evangelical  teachings,  with  the  applications 
to  conduct  arising  therefrom,  may  be  embodied  in 
good  junior  stories  and  in  projects  of  expression  and 
service.  They  may  also  to  a  limited  extent  be  pre- 
sented symbolically  in  those  habit-lessons  on  prayer, 
giving,  church  attendance  and  daily  reading  of  the- 
Bible  which  are  so  needful  at  this  age,  and  in  memory 
drills  carrying  some  significance  even  though  not 
fully  understood.  With  this  work  well  done,  by 
teachers  whose  life  attractively  presents  religion,  the 
junior's  religious  reactions  may  be  looked  for;  and 
however  different  these  may  be  from  the  traditional 
voices  of  early  piety,  we  may  count  them  as  signs  of 
our  boys'  and  girls'  normal  religious  life. 

3.     The  Religion  of  Youth. 

(a)  At  the  Place  of  Decision. — The  early  adoles- 
cent is  confronted  with  the  task  of  organizing  his 
personality.  As  a  junior,  duty  was  presented  to  him 
in  the  will  of  others,  and  of  God  as  interpreted  to  him 
by  them.  Now  he  demands  his  independence ;  which 
involves  the  necessity,  if  be  wo^ild  continue  as  a  child 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  231 

of  God,  that  he  define  God's  will  for  himself.  One 
after  another  the  issues  present  themselves.  Some- 
times he  settles  them  wrongly.  Sometimes  he  breaks 
with  father  or  mother  on  an  issue  that  is  for  him 
simply  a  matter  of  the  freedom  of  his  soul.  What  a 
relief  to  the  perplexities  of  his  spiritual  situation  if 
he  can  be  led  to  see  that  in  deciding  once  for  all  to 
give  his  life  to  God  in  a  whole-souled  adherence  to 
Jesus  as  Lord  he  has  found  a  means  of  settling  all  his 
issues  and  at  the  same  time  has  established  his  free- 
dom from  the  spiritual  dominance  of  all  on  earth ! 
The  early  adolescent  who  is  not  in  some  way  given  a 
chance  to  avow  his  decision  to  be  a  Christian  has 
been  deprived  of  his  rights. 

(b)  Idealism. — Religious  education  for  intermedi- 
ates and  seniors,  then,  assuredly  includes  the  call  to 
Qiristian  decision.  In  some  cases  this  will  be  the 
solemn  confirmation  of  a  stand  taken  years  before,  or 
taken  by  parents  and  now  personally  assumed.  In 
other  cases  it  will  represent  a  genuine  conversion. 
Sometimes  both  aspects  of  the  act  will  appear.  But 
the  course  of  study  must  furnish  the  pupil  with  far 
more  than  a  series  of  evangelical  appeals,  needful  as 
these  are  at  the  appropriate  season. 

If  the  youth's  decision  is  to  have  content  and  value 
for  life,  he  must  in  his  religious  lessons  be  given  ma- 
terial out  of  which  to  frame  his  life's  ideal.  Bio- 
graphical lessons,  such  as  form  an  important  part  of 
the  graded  curricula  for  these  years,  must  acquaint 
him  with  the  intimate  personalities  of  many  followers 
of  God  in  Bible  and  later  times.  Among  and  above 
these  must  be  presented  in  repeated  and  cumulative 


232    CHURCH-SOHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

form  the  life  of  Jesus,  that  he  may  absorb  its  char- 
acteristics and  make  its  holy  aims  and  aspirations  his 
own. 

(c)  Service  as  Religious  Expression. — Activity  in 
practical  service  for  others  will  be  the  normal  relig- 
ious reaction  from  these  and  correlated  intermediate 
religious  lessons,  provided  ways  of  rendering  such 
service  can  be  attractively  presented  to  the  group  or 
gang,  A  service  program  for  each  class,  submitted 
for  adoption  with  alternative  propositions  and  freely 
undertaken,  is  therefore  an  indispensable  part  of  the 
religious  curriculum  at  this  age.  But  the  continu- 
ance of  junior  habits  of  Bible-reading,  church  attend- 
ance and  giving  may  also  be  sought  by  teachers  and 
leaders,  and  faithfulness  therein  taken  as  signs  of 
love  to  God.  Reverent  attendance  on  public  worship 
(because  the  pulpit  has  regard  for  the  worshiper's  se- 
crets as  to  belief,  acceptance  and  approval  of  what  is 
said)  is  an  especially  valuable  adolescent  means  of 
grace.' 

As  the  senior  years  are  reached,  we  may  more  and 
more  appeal  to  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  Christ.  We 
may  expect  the  young  Christian  to  show  that  he  is 
passing  beyond  the  legalistic  experience  of  conform- 
ity to  a  law  of  obedience  into  that  aspiration  after 
godliness  that  marks  the  Pauline  sense  of  freedom 
from  the  law  and  bondage  to  Christ.  A  teacher  who 
can  call  forth  these  aspirations  is  at  this  age  a  bless- 
ing indeed.  A  social  organization  in  which  the  re- 
ligious side  is  kept  prominent  is  also  a  needed  means 
of  grace. 

*  McKinley,  "  Educational  Evangelism,"  pp.  173-188. 


THE  SCHOOL'S  RELIGION  233 

4.     The  Religion  of  Later  Adolescence. 

(a)  Organization  for  Educational  Service. — At  the 
close  of  the  high-school  age,  where  our  present  senior 
department  also  ends,  the  church  school  should  have 
some  sort  of  graduation  exercise  and  should  grant  its 
diploma  for  the  completion  of  the  full  imdergraduate 
graded  course. 

The  six  or  seven  years  of  young  people's  life  which 
follow  this  significant  era,  corresponding  to  the  col- 
lege and  post-graduate  years,  form  a  period  where 
religious  education  is  received  in  close  and  conscious 
reference  to  service.  Some  of  the  graduates  will 
enter  the  training  class  to  continue  their  graded 
studies  intensively,  with  the  prospect  of  winning  di- 
ploma credit  and  taking  some  teaching  or  official  posi- 
tion. Others  will  join  a  class  of  young  people,  there 
under  class  organization  to  attack  problems  and  carry 
responsibilities  in  church  and  community,  besides 
pursuing  some  one  of  the  many  profitable  elective 
courses  now  available.  Many  will  go  away  to  col- 
lege or  employment,  returning  on  visits  or  at  vacation 
times.    What  shall  we  do  with  them? 

All  these  young  people  of  the  church  and  congre- 
gation, present  and  absent,  whether  church  members 
or  not,  and  whether  or  not  they  are  now  enrolled  in 
the  church  school  as  workers  or  class  members, 
should  be  united  in  one  broad  young  people's  organi- 
zation. This  organization  will  be  understood  as  em- 
bracing all  in  the  congregation  whose  age  or  gradua- 
tion record  from  the  church  school  puts  them  within 
seven  years  from  receipt  of  the  school's  diploma. 
Every  member  whose  educational  age  exceeds  seven 


234    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

years  from  this  point  will  be  honoured  as  an  alumnus 
or  alumna  of  the  young  people,  v/elcome  as  an  associ- 
ate or  adviser  but  ineligible  to  serve  on  committees  or 
hold  official  young  people's  positions.  This  universal 
college  rule  should  not  be  hard  to  explain  and  en- 
force. 

To  this  permanent,  because  constantly  changing, 
guild  of  the  congregation,  wisely  organized  under  a 
central  committee,  should  be  entrusted  the  work  of 
uniting,  uplifting  and  religiously  educating  its  mem- 
bers and  training  them  for  Christian  service.  Every 
activity  in  which  young  people  are  concerned  may  be 
counted  an  activity  of  the  guild, — the  devotional 
meeting,  the  training  class  or  classes,  the  organized 
classes,  the  mission  study  classes,  the  corps  of  teach- 
ers and  assistants  in  each  of  the  church-school  de- 
partments, the  corps  of  ushers,  the  correspondence 
section  of  students  and  workers  away  from  home,  the 
singing  society,  dramatic  league,  literary  circle,  or 
other  group; — and  all  should  be  represented  in  the 
guild  management  and  seated  at  its  public  gatherings 
for  business,  worship  or  commemoration.  The  ex- 
perience of  young  people's  life  in  the  church  during 
these  years  should  be  made  a  bright  and  sacred  chap- 
ter in  the  story  of  every  one  who  has  lived  through  it 
and  passed  on. 

The  distinguishing  mark  of  that  service  which  will 
avail  as  means  of  religious  education  for  later  adoles- 
cents, it  will  be  noted,  is  reality.  It  will  not  do  to 
hunt  up  some  interesting  task  such  as  we  would  find 
for  our  intermediates  and  expect  a  twenty-year-old 
to  seize  it,  leaving  us  adults  in  undisturbed  possession 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  236 

of  our  customary  franchises  of  responsibility.  What 
we  offer  must  be  something  that  the  church  itself  has 
heretofore  claimed  as  its  own,  or  might  claim.  To 
take  up  in  its  own  right,  with  the  pastor's  friendly  co- 
operation, the  whole  problem  of  developing  the  relig- 
ious life  of  the  guild  and  its  members  and  providing 
for  them  adequate  training  for  the  service  of  the 
church  and  its  community, — this  is  but  the  first  of  the 
tasks  that  the  young  people  are  ready  to  undertake, 
once  we  realize  that  until  the  church  makes  them  its 
partners  they  are  not  interested  in  its  enterprise  at  all. 

(b)  Faith,  Fellowship,  Dedication. — The  religious 
education  for  later  adolescents  must  include  training 
in  faith.  With  reason  and  judgment  maturing,  an- 
swers are  wanted  to  the  many  new  problems  of  the 
soul.  Every  class  needs  to  be  a  forum,  with  the 
widest  possible  liberty  of  discussion.  The  kind  of 
teacher  who  wants  his  tadpoles  to  stay  tadpoles  will 
see  his  class  melt  away.  The  way  to  faith  is  through 
intelligent  questioning  of  that  we  thought  was  final 
before.  When  God  is  seen  as  great  enough  in  His 
love  and  His  working,  His  justice  and  His  power,  to 
satisfy  the  young  man's  ideals,  faith  will  follow; 
though  not  always  according  to  childhood's  forms. 

The  later  adolescent  is  also  profoundly  social. 
This  is  the  mating  time  of  the  species.  The  senti- 
mentality of  middle  adolescence  past,  instinct  impels 
to  a  wide  mingling  in  social  pleasures  with  those  of 
both  sexes,  because  out  of  such  conditions  may  come 
the  satisfaction  of  life's  greatest  desire.  Religion  is 
perfectly  at  home  in  this  compan5^  The  church 
should  foster  the  plans  of  its  young  people,  as  worked 


236    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

out  in  their  guild  or  other  organization  with  adult  co- 
operation, and  should  encourage  the  means  of  relig- 
ious idealism.  Such  means  are  found  in  earnest 
weekly  young  people's  meetings,  the  leadership  of  the 
pastor,  and  regular  delegations  to  inspiring  and  edu- 
cative summer  conferences  and  young  people's  con- 
ventions. 

When  by  wise  and  well  unified  church  administra- 
tion of  religious  education  such  conditions  as  these 
have  been  established,  results  should  appear.  The 
young  home-makers  should  enter  on  their  life  of  ma- 
turity with  a  spirit  of  dedication  to  God's  service  in 
their  community,  and  with  an  appreciation  of  the  re- 
ligious significance  of  industrial,  commercial  and 
public  service  and  of  the  supreme  sacredness  of 
parenthood.  The  church  should  find  it  easier  to  be 
efficiently  served  in  its  many  places  of  voluntary  la- 
bour. And  every  year  should  see  one  or  more  deci- 
sions for  the  gospel  ministry  or  some  one  of  the  many 
other  modern  forms  of  non-commercial  dedication  to 
the  service  of  God  and  humanity. 


5.     Adult  Religious  Education. 

Adult  religious  education  frequently  includes  a 
making  up  of  lost  opportunities  in  Bible  study  and 
the  rudiments  of  Christian  ethics  and  theology.  Most 
adult  classes  include  a  few  near-heathen  thinkers, 
some  of  whom,  it  may  be,  sit  high  in  the  rule  of  the 
congregation.  To  open  the  eyes  of  such  to  the  view- 
point of  Jesus  and  Paul  is  good  though  sadly  belated 
education.     Training  for  teaching,  for  parental  serv- 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  237 

ice  and  for  Christian  citizenshipj  through  special 
classes,  may  also  figure  in  our  plans  for  the  adult 
department. 

The  main  adult  objective,  however,  at  least  for 
those  already  Christian  by  profession,  is  to  teach, 
illustrate  and  apply  to  life  the  essential  principles  of 
the  Christian  religion.  The  standard  method  is  dis- 
cussion ;  usually  w^ith  some  Bible  passage  or  topic  as 
a  point  of  departure.  To  help  busy  workers  and 
burden-bearers  to  see  the  religious  meaning  of  the 
facts  and  institutions  of  their  daily  life;  to  expound 
the  New  Testament  philosophy  and  the  implications 
of  the  gospel  of  love  as  the  rule  of  living;  to  meet 
hard  questions  with  illuminating  answers ;  to  give 
help  to  the  soul  for  its  fight  of  the  week  to  come, — 
that  is  the  religious  education  our  men  and  women 
need ;  and  the  department  should  be  organized  to  fa- 
cilitate their  getting  it. 


6.    The  Religion  of  the  School. 

(a)  The  School's  Need  of  Religion. — To  make  the 
church  school  truly  a  school  of  religion,  the  curricu- 
lum in  every  grade  must  have  its  religious  side ;  and 
the  school  administration  must  understand  and  value 
that  side  and  take  whatever  steps  may  be  needful  to 
put  it  into  operation  as  a  teaching  force.  To  this  end 
have  we  thus  reviewed  the  curriculum  and  to  some 
extent  the  teaching  organization.  Let  the  superin- 
tendent see  that  his  school  teaches  religion. 

But  back  of  the  curriculum  is  the  school  itself.  It 
also  must  teach  religion.    The  curriculum  is  its  voice ; 


238     CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

and  the  voice  must  speak  from  the  heart  or  its  mes- 
sage will  not  carry.  Before  a  school  can  hope  to 
teach  religion,  it  must  be  a  religious  school. 

Some  church  schools  do  have  religion,  or  did  have 
it  years  ago,  as  their  old  members  can  feelingly  tes- 
tify. Others  run  for  years  at  a  "  poor  dying  rate." 
Some,  whose  standing  was  never  questioned,  fall  out 
over  some  personal  issue  and  lose  their  religion  in 
strife,  jealousy  and  bitter  recriminations.  While 
such  an  atmosphere  prevails,  the  teacher  of  religion 
labours  almost  or  altogether  in  vain. 

(b)  Religion  as  Personal  Life. — Every  teacher  and 
leader  in  a  school  of  religion  must  realize  the  educa- 
tional necessity  that  his  "  manner  of  life  be  worthy 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ."  No  qualification  as  officer 
or  teacher  can  make  up  for  inconsistency  of  beha- 
viour and  insincerity  of  profession.  In  a  school  ad- 
ministered on  the  plans  herein  laid  down,  full  pro- 
vision exists  for  the  orderly  retiring  of  the  unfit  from 
any  place ;  and  each  board  or  other  appointing  body 
has  full  responsibility  for  every  choice  and  retention. 
The  life  of  the  leaders,  as  thus  known  and  endorsed, 
is  therefore  the  life  of  the  school.  Let  that  life  teach 
religion. 

(c)  Religion  as  Relationship. — No  insignificant 
part  of  the  daily  life  of  church-school  workers  is  that 
which  is  lived  in  the  presence  of  the  school.  The 
school  organization  establishes  relationships  of  the 
members  one  with  another,  and  other  relationships 
with  the  offices  they  hold,  the  duties  they  perform 
and  the  values  they  handle.  In  all  these  is  scope  for 
the  exercise  and  culture  of  the  religious  life.     Cour- 


THE  SCHOOL'S  RELIGION  239 

tesy  and  consideration,  punctuality  and  exactitude  of 
performance,  self-control  under  provocation,  rever- 
ence and  recognition  of  God's  presence  during  times 
and  acts  of  worship,  and  other  evidences  of  personal 
walk  with  God,  are  mighty  forces  for  the  teaching  of 
religion;  while  every  breach  and  fall  from  Christian 
standards  is  a  setback,  the  more  serious  as  the  judg- 
ment of  adolescence  is  more  keen  and  pitiless  than 
that  of  age  that  knows. 

Times  of  election  and  promotion  are  especially 
valuable  opportunities  for  religion  to  show  its  power 
in  the  teachers'  and  leaders'  lives.  If  there  is  any 
element  of  injustice  or  unwisdom  in  the  rules  by 
which  these  occasions  are  governed,  he  whose  re- 
ligion has  the  element  of  courage  will  bring  up  the 
matter  in  due  season  and  have  these  rules  amended  if 
he  can  get  for  his  proposals  his  fellow-workers'  com 
sent.  When  the  time  comes  for  decisions,  appoint^ 
ments  and  it  may  be  separations,  disappointments 
and  failures  to  recognize  true  worth  and  meritorious 
service,  the  religious  worker  will  loyally  play  the 
game  and  look  to  his  Master  for  justice  and  reward. 
For  a  teacher  of  growing  girls  or  boys  to  show  such 
a  spirit  under  trying  circumstances  is  a  lesson  in  re- 
ligion indeed.  Should  not  the  pastor  at  some  con- 
venient season  make  this  clear? 

(d)  Religion  as  Service.  —  There  are  church 
schools  where  the  missionary  offerings  are  treated  as 
a  tax  that  must  be  grumblingly  collected  and  paid  in 
order  that  our  credit  may  not  suffer.  Such  schools 
usually  also  confine  their  personal  service  activity  to 
the  making  up  of  one  or  more  Thanksgiving  dinner 


240    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

baskets  and  the  gathering  of  Christmas  gifts  for  some 
institution  or  for  the  neighbouring  poor.  In  each 
case  there  must  be  a  return  in  the  shape  of  fun  for 
the  school  and  at  least  a  letter  of  unqualified  appre- 
ciation from  the  matron  or  the  missionary,  or  the 
school  will  think  itself  ill  used.  Does  not  such  a 
spirit  indicate  a  rather  low  level  of  religion? 

In  a  truly  religious  school  such  openings  for  gifts 
and  service  will  be  seized  as  privileges  and  will  be 
occupied  without  calculation  of  acknowledgment  and 
return.  Givers  will  not  wait  until  the  coming  of  the 
festival  spirit  makes  it  fashionable  and  easy  to  re- 
member the  poor;  nor  will  they  scrape  off  into  their 
own  bin  the  heaping  top  of  their  missionary  measure. 
Such  a  spirit  will  not  reduce  the  joy  of  sei-vice  gath- 
erings; nor  will  gifts  so  made  fail  of  recognition. 
The  religion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  service. 
Let  our  school's  service  be  religion. 

7.     The  Service  of  Worship. 

(a)  Significance  of  School  Worship. — In  the  pulpit 
services  of  the  church  we  worship  for  ourselves,  to 
find  soul-strength  and  pay  our  duty  to  the  Lord.  In 
the  church  school  we  should  worship  not  less  but 
more  devoutly,  because  here  we  not  only  draw  near 
to  God  but  bring  with  us  the  children,  that  they  too 
may  find  the  way  to  Him.  Our  worship  is  part  of 
our  program  of  education  in  religion.  In  the  class 
the  appeal  is  mainly  to  intellect  and  reason;  in  the 
worship  the  appeal  is  to  the  emotions  of  the  religious 
life. 

Evangelism  and  worship  ought  to  go  forward  hand 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  241 

in  hand.  It  is  strange  that  the  connection  between 
these  two  outstanding  features  of  church-school  life 
has  not  been  more  clearly  seen.  If  the  God  whose 
forgiveness  we  seek,  and  who  so  loved  the  world  that 
He  sent  His  Son  to  be  our  Saviour,  is  a  real  and  liv- 
ing God,  then  every  contact  established  between  our 
spirits  and  His  divine  presence  is  a  step  toward  fuller 
fellowship  with  Him  in  Christ,  or  else  a  step  toward 
the  clearer  revelation  of  our  sinful  self  and  our  own 
utter  need  of  His  forgiving  grace.  Insistence  on 
purity  of  doctrine  cannot  take  the  place  of  the  pub- 
lican's prayer  for  forgiveness  and  the  worshiper's 
glad  and  free  approach  to  his  Father's  footstool.  Let 
every  great  conviction  of  truth  be  taught  with  posi- 
tive clearness ;  and  let  the  way  of  the  contrite  heart 
be  kept  open,  hallowed  and  free.  So  shall  each  of 
these  religious  influences  support  and  reinforce  the 
other. 

(b)  Magnifying  the  Worship  Period. — The  church 
school  being  a  school,  with  a  complex  organization 
and  with  many  features  heading  up  in  a  single  busy 
hour,  the  whole  of  our  order  of  service  evidently  can- 
not be  called  worship.  We  should  therefore  organize 
it,  as  was  suggested  in  Chapter  I,  Section  2 ;  and  that 
part  allotted  to  worship  should  be  "holy  to  the 
Lord,"  religiously  kept  clear  of  all  frivolity,  all  inter- 
ruption and  all  attempts  at  instruction. 

During  the  worship  period  the  doors  should  be 
closed  and  all  official  moving  about  should  be  for- 
bidden. The  service  should  as  far  as  possible  be  au- 
tomatic, without  directions,  explanations,  the  beating 
of  time,  the  playing  over  of  the  tune,  or  any  other 


242    CHUKCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION 

intrusion  between  the  souls  of  the  worshipers  and 
the  presence  of  God.  Later,  if  need  be,  the  leader 
may  drill  on  material  to  be  used  in  the  next  worship 
service,  teach  a  hymn,  explain  a  passage  or  correct 
some  fault  of  behaviour.  But  in  worship  he  rever- 
ently leads  in  a  varied  but  constant  acknowledgment 
of  the  reality  and  the  nearness  of  the  loving  and 
hearing  God. 

The  best  of  our  modern  church-school  hymnals 
now  furnish  ample  material  from  which  the  leader 
may  take  his  orders  of  worship.  To  secure  that  au- 
tomatism that  makes  our  church  services  so  quietly 
worshipful,  the  same  service  should  be  used  for  a 
series  of  Sundays ;  the  service  number,  with  the  num- 
bers of  the  hymns,  being  posted  so  that  no  announce- 
ment need  be  given.  Teachers  should  be  drilled  apart 
from  the  school  as  to  their  part  in  reading  the  an- 
nouncement board  and  leading  their  classes  in  rever- 
ent participation. 

An  appropriately  phrased  call  to  worship  should 
bring  all  to  their  feet,  ready  for  an  animated  re- 
sponse. Prayers  should  be  brief  and  for  definite 
utterances  and  needs.  Full  use  should  be  made  of 
memory  passages  that  have  been  learned  in  the 
graded  courses.  Hymns  should  be  sung  from  an 
opening  chord  and  chosen  to  express  some  desired 
emotion.  If  the  leader  can  tell  or  procure  the  telling 
of  a  brief  story  embodying  the  emotion  the  worship 
is  designed  to  nourish — gratitude,  good-will,  rever- 
ence, faith,  loyalty — it  will  add  to  the  impression. 
After  an  interval  of  from  seven  to  ten  minutes,  the 
doors  may  be  opened,  late-comers  admitted  and  the 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  243 

tension  lightened ;  though  the  atmosphere  of  worship 
will  still  be  cultivated  for  the  rest  of  the  opening 
period/ 

(c)  The  Reverent  Opening  of  Worship. — What 
seems  to  some  schools  an  insuperable  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  holding  such  an  opening  service  of  worship  is 
the  irreverent  atmosphere  preceding  the  opening  and 
the  difficulty  of  promptly  bringing  the  school  to  or- 
der. How  to  secure  even  respectful  quiet  and  atten- 
tion, to  say  nothing  of  the  worshiper's  attitude  of 
reverence,  seems  a  problem.  Yet  the  problem  must 
be  solved.  We  must  have  discipline,  or  the  higher 
goal  of  reverence  in  worship  will  be  forever  beyond 
our  reach. 

How  is  reverence  secured  in  the  church?  By  in- 
suring that  no  irreverence  shall  have  a  chance  to  de- 
velop. The  janitor  opens  the  doors  and  represents 
church  authority  till  some  one  arrives  to  whom  the 
unspoken  trust  shall  pass.  There  is  also  a  sequence 
of  items  in  the  unwritten  program  of  the  church's 
assembly  period, — the  incoming  and  silent  prayers  of 
the  early  worshipers ;  the  arrival  of  the  organist,  the 
ushers,  the  choir;  the  musical  prelude;  the  pastor's 
entry  and  the  opening  act.  Just  such  a  sequence  can 
be  organized  for  the  school's  assembly  period,  with 

'  For  many  forms  of  opening  worship,  with  carefully 
selected  and  arranged  prayers.  Scripture  selections  and 
hymns,  see  Hartshorne's  Book  of  Worship  for  the  Church 
School.  For  a  large  collection  of  stories  to  be  u^ed  in  these 
services,  with  other  guidance  for  the  leader,  see  the  same 
author's  Manual  for  Training  in  Worship.  Professor 
Hartshorne's  theory  of  educational  worship  and  the  experi- 
ments on  which  the  Manual  is  based  are  discussed  ia  his 
Worship  in  the  Sunday  School. 


244    CHURCH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

no  break  or  interval  of  unorganized  time,  and  with 
every  step  leading  up  to  the  opening  words  of  devo- 
tion. 

Every  door  should  have  both  an  outside  and  an 
inside  sentinel.  These  should  be  in  their  places  two 
minutes  before  the  "  zero  hour,"  or  substitutes  should 
replace  them  for  the  day.  As  the  superintendent 
rises,  the  doors  should  close.  The  inside  boy  will 
then  watch  the  leader  for  the  signal  to  reopen ;  while 
the  outside  boy  explains  the  rules  to  the  late-comers 
and  awaits  the  signal  of  the  turning  latch  to  say, 
"  Please  go  quietly  to  your  seats." 


8.    The  Call  to  Confess  Christ. 

In  a  Christian  school  which  has  succeeded  in  em- 
bodying its  religion  in  its  life  and  worship  as  herein 
described,  confession  of  Christ  will  be  the  normal 
and  obvious  act  of  all  but  those  whom  some  evil  com- 
panion or  ill-advised  parent  seeks  to  hinder.  But 
where  the  school  life  is  essentially  irreligious,  spend- 
ing itself  on  activities  that  do  not  count  toward  its 
main  objective,  such  a  proposition  as  the  holding  of 
a  Decision  Day  will  seem  strange,  undesirable  and 
fraught  with  much  anticipated  danger. 

It  is  educationally  indispensable  that  some  provi- 
sion be  definitely  made  to  confront  with  the  call  to 
decision,  at  least  once  a  year,  those  from  whom  a 
Christian  decision  is  due.  In  the  primary  department 
the  little  children  are  equally  entitled  to  be  known  as 
followers  of  Jesus  and  to  hear  His  loving  call;  but 
only  in  exceptional  cases  will  it  be  wise  for  the 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  245 

church  to  confirm,  baptize  or  otherwise  seal  their  in- 
dividual act.  The  older  juniors  and  the  intermedi- 
ates may  be  given  a  wider  chance  to  take  a  public 
stand;  and  for  all  seniors  and  young  people  not  yet 
professing  Christians  an  earnest  effort  to  win  them  to 
out-and-out  decision  should  be  made  and  carried  up 
by  personal  organization  to  the  unconverted  of  ma- 
turer  years.  How  these  appeals  are  to  be  made  each 
church  will,  of  course,  determine  for  itself. 

Preceding  such  appeals  there  should  be  education 
in  the  meaning  of  the  decision  called  for.  A  proper 
graded  course  will  contain  such  teaching ;  and  to  sup- 
plement this  a  pastor's  class  of  catechumens  is  usually 
formed  and  in  some  communions  is  counted  indis- 
pensable. Where  the  school  joins  with  the  pastor  in 
this  work  of  evangelical  education,  and  the  church 
holds  a  public  confirmation  service,  with  vows  of 
consecration  to  Christ  made  by  the  confirmed,  the  act 
should  be  considered  that  church's  mode  of  observing 
Decision  Day. 

Following  the  decisions,  likewise,  every  one  who 
has  made  any  kind  of  sign  of  religious  interest  should 
be  noted,  followed  with  care  by  teacher  and  pastor, 
invited  to  make  his  confession  complete  if  that  has 
not  yet  been  done,  and  given  some  congenial  activity 
to  pursue  as  evidence  and  exercise  of  his  newly 
avowed  faith  and  purpose.  Under  the  plans  of  class 
organization,  pupil-management  of  departments  and 
self -organization  of  the  young  people's  guild  already 
presented,*  opportunities  for  such  activity  will  not  be 
lacking. 

*  Chapter  III,  Sees.  5,  jh,  9 ;  Chapter  X,  Sec.  4a. 


246    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTEATION^ 

9.    Is  Ours  a  Religious  School? 

The  educational  director,  the  superintendent,  the 
pastor  and  all  who  share  responsibiUty  for  the  con- 
duct of  the  church  school  may  well  take  up  for  fre- 
quent and  prayerful  study  the  question  whether  their 
plans  are  leading  in  the  direction  of  a  fuller  and 
deeper  religious  life  for  the  school.  Religion  may  be 
in  the  studies;  and  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  the 
teachers  and  other  workers  it  may  shine.  But  is  it 
in  the  school?  Does  it  reach  to  the  homes?  Is  it 
felt  in  the  community?  Is  it  a  temporary  state  of 
revival,  or  has  it  the  means  of  its  own  perpetuation 
and  the  nourishing  supply  of  a  rich  program  of  wor- 
ship and  brotherly  service?  Are  the  little  children 
granted  the  full  franchises  of  the  kingdom?  Do  those 
who  lead  in  its  counsels  walk  with  God?  When  such 
schools  have  been  multiplied  and  extended  to  meet 
the  want  of  them  that  now  prevails,  the  future  of  our 
nation  and  of  the  world  will  be  secure. 

Assignments 
I  a.     (i)  Do  you  agree  that  a  church  school  should 
be  first  of  all  a  school  of  religion?    If  so,  give  rea- 
son.    (2)  If  not,  what  other  end  would  you  put  in 
religion's  place  ? 

lb.     When  has  service  a  religious  value? 

ic.  What  are  the  evils  of  seeking  an  adult  relig- 
ious experience  in  children  and  youth  ? 

2a.  What  will  be  the  main  features  of  religious 
education  for  the  little  children  in  the  church  school  ? 

2b.  By  what  support  and  cooperation  can  this  be 
made  effective? 


THE  SCHOOL'S  EELIGION  247 

2C.  (i)  What  instances  have  you  observed  of  a 
Sunday  school  that  failed  to  give  good  religious  edu- 
cation to  its  little  children?  (2)  What  v^ould  you 
have  done  to  improve  matters  ? 

2d.     (i)  What  would  you  teach  the  juniors,  as  a 


What 


2d.  (i)  What  would  you  teach  the  juniors, 
means  for  developing  their  religion?  (2)  ^ 
would  you  watch  for  as  signs  of  success? 

3a.  Why  do  we  owe  to  our  intermediates  and 
seniors  a  chance  to  make  a  public  avowal  of  their 
decision  to  serve  and  follow  Christ  ? 

3b.  What  besides  appeals  to  accept  Christ  is 
needed  in  adolescent  religious  education  ? 

3c.  (i)  How  will  intermediate  religion  normally 
express  itself?     (2)  Senior  religion? 

4a.  (i)  If  the  plan  of  a  young  people's  guild,  as 
outlined,  were  applied  to  your  congregation,  what 
organizations  and  activities  would  be  thereby  corre- 
lated, what  changes  would  be  needful,  and  what 
benefits  might  be  expected  when  the  plan  was  fully 
installed?  (2)  What  sort  of  service  will  meet  the 
older  young  people's  religious  needs  ? 

4b.  (i)  With  the  young  people  properly  organ- 
ized, what  will  constitute  the  main  elements  of  their 
religious  education?  (2)  What  results  should  be 
looked  for? 

5.  What  is  the  essence  of  adult  religious  educa- 
tion? 

6a.  Why  must  the  school  as  well  as  its  lessons  be 
religious  ? 

6b.  Why  is  the  life  of  the  leaders,  for  better  or 
worse,  the  life  of  the  school  ? 

6c.  How  does  the  religion  of  the  school  show 
through  its  members'  relationships? 


248    CHUECH-SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 

6d.  (i)  What  sort  of  service  and  giving  fails  to 
be  religious?     (2)  How  would  you  make  it  better? 

7a.  (i)  Should  school  worship  be  less  or  more 
worshipful  than  church  worship?  Why?  (2)  Why 
should  evangelism  and  worship  work  together  for 
souls  ? 

7b.  Draft  an  outline  service  of  opening  worship 
that  will  embody  the  features  suggested. 

7c.  Draft  a  program  for  the  assembly  period,  to 
control  conduct,  direct  activities  and  lead  up  to  a 
worshipful  opening  of  the  school.  Indicate  the  hour 
of  each  item. 

8.  ( I )  How  would  you  handle  a  day  of  decision 
in  your  school?  (2)  What  preparatory  steps  would 
it  involve,  and  what  follow-up? 

9.  (i)  On  a  scale  of  icx),  how  would  you  grade 
the  religious  life  of  your  school?  (2)  Show  how 
you  arrive  at  this  conclusion. 


APPENDIX  A 

A  Policy  for  the  Young  People's  Division 
(See  text,  page  63) 

On  recommendation  of  its  committee  on  young 
people's  work,  the  Sunday-school  Council  of  Evan- 
gelical Denominations,  at  its  annual  meeting  in  Bos- 
ton, January  16-18,  1917,  adopted  a  general  policy 
for  the  handling  of  church-school  work  in  the  Young 
People's  Division,  as  follows: 

/.     The  Scope 
The  years  of  adolescence  are  regarded  as  the  scope 
of  our  work.     The  natural  groupings  within  these 
years  are  recognized  as  follows : 

Group  I — years  13,  14  (12  optional). 
Group  2 — years  15,  16,  17. 
Group  3 — years  18-24. 
It  is  understood  that  these  groupings  shall  in  all 
cases    be    considered    flexible,    thus    permitting    the 
adjustment  of  group  organization  to  local  needs. 

The  grouping  of  any  particular  pupil  is  not  to  be 
determined  primarily  by  age.  His  week-day  social 
relations  and  his  mental  and  religious  development 
are  exceedingly  important  factors. 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  in  the  applica- 
tion of  these  principles  in  the  local  school  the  relative 
efficiency  of  the  organization  of  the  junior  depart- 
ment and  of  Group  i  should  be  taken  into  account  in 
placing  the  twelve-year-old  pupil. 

The  upper  age-limit  of  Group  3  shall  not  be  under- 
stood to  prevent  the  promotion  into  the  adult  depart- 

249 


250  APPENDIXES 

ment  of  those  young  people  who,  before  passing 
twenty-four,  shall  have  established  homes  of  their 
own,  or  otherwise  taken  up  the  responsibilities  and 
interests  of  adult  life. 

//,     The  General  Aim 

Building  on  the  foundation  laid  in  previous  years 
(the  elementary  departments),  the  aim  is  to  produce 
through  worship,  instruction  and  training,  the  highest 
type  of  Christian  manhood  and  womanhood,  express- 
ing itself  in  right  living  and  efficient  service. 

///.     Group  Aims 

The  aim  of  these  groups  is  to  realize  in  the  life  of 
each  individual  the  following  results: 

In  Group  i,  (a)  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  personal  Saviour;  {h)  a  knowledge  of  Christian 
ideals;  (c)  a  personal  acceptance  and  open  acknowl- 
edgment of  these  ideals;  {d)  the  public  acceptance  of 
the  privileges  and  opportunities  of  church  member- 
ship; {e)  the  development  of  the  social  consciousness, 
and  the  expression  of  the  physical,  social,  mental  and 
religious  life  in  service  to  others. 

In  Group  2,  (a)  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
a  personal  Saviour;  {h)  the  testing  of  his  earlier 
Christian  ideals  in  the  light  of  his  enlarging  experi- 
ences and  the  consequent  adjustment  of  his  life- 
choices  and  conduct;  (c)  the  expression  of  the 
rapidly  developing  social  consciousness  through  the 
home,  church  and  community;  {d)  the  development 
of  initiative,  responsibility  and  self-expression  in 
Christian  service. 

In  Group  3,  (a)  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
personal  Saviour  and  Lord;  {h)  the  maintenance  of 
his  tested  Christian  ideals  and  the  relation  of  these 
to  the  practical  work  of  life;  (c)  the  preparation  for 
and  a  willingness  to  assume  the  duties  and  responsi- 


APPENDIXES  261 

bilities  of  home-making  and  citizenship;  (d)  the 
preparation  for  and  acceptance  of  a  definite  place  in 
the  organization  and  work  of  the  church  for  the 
community  and  the  world;  (e)  the  preparation  for 
and  acceptance  of  a  definite  place  in  the  work  of  life, 
business,  professional,  industrial ;  that  in  and  through 
his  daily  work  he  may  do  the  will  of  God  and  promote 
His  kingdom  in  the  world. 

IV.     General  Principles 

1.  The  ideal  is  one  inclusive  organization  in  the 
local  church  for  each  group  of  adolescents.  Each  of 
these  organizations  should  provide  all  necessary  in- 
struction and  training  through  classes  organized  for 
specific  tasks  and  individual  training;  the  classes  to 
meet  separately  for  instruction,  together  for  prayer, 
praise  and  testimony,  separately  or  together  for 
through-the-week  activities. 

2.  In  churches  where  there  already  exist  a  Sunday 
school,  young  people's  societies  and  other  organiza- 
tions for  adolescents,  the  work  of  these  organizations 
should  be  correlated  in  such  a  way  that  it  may  be 
complemental,  not  conflicting  or  competing.  For  this 
purpose  there  should  be  in  each  group  a  committee 
composed  of  the  presidents  and  teachers  of  the 
classes,  the  officers  of  the  various  organizations  in- 
volved, the  pastor  and  any  advisory  officers  appointed 
to  this  committee  by  the  local  church.  These  com- 
mittees in  conference  with  those  charged  with  the 
work  of  religious  education  in  the  local  church  should 
determine  the  program  of  study  and  activities  in 
order  to  prevent  overlapping  and  duplication  of  ef- 
fort. 

3.  The  program  of  study  and  activities  for  adoles- 
cents should  be  such  as  to  develop  them  on  all  sides 
of  their  nature — physical,  social,  mental,  religious. 
This  should  include  Bible  study  and  correlated  sub- 


252  APPENDIXES 

jects,  the  cultivation  of  the  devotional  life,  training 
for  leadership,  and  service  through  stewardship, 
recreation,  community  work,  citizenship,  evangelism 
and  missions. 

V.     Means 

Groupings. — For  purposes  of  administration,  the 
three  natural  groups  may,  for  the  present,  be  named 
as  follows:  Group  i.  Intermediates;  Group  2,  Se- 
niors; Group  3,  Young  People. 

Suggested  Form  of  Organisation. — The  officers  of 
these  groups  should  be  president,  vice-president,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  to  be  elected  by  the  members  of 
the  group  from  their  own  number,  and  a  counselor 
or  superintendent,  selected  by  the  group  in  confer- 
ence with  the  proper  church  authorities. 

The  officers  of  the  group,  with  the  presidents  of 
the  organized  classes  and  the  counselor  or  superin- 
tendent, shall  constitute  the  executive  committee  in 
each  group.  The  pastor  and  general  superintendent 
shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee. All  the  activities  of  the  members  of  each 
group  shall  be  under  the  direction  of  and  related  to 
this  central  executive  committee. 

Other  committees  may  be  formed  as  needed,  pref- 
erably short-term  committees  appointed  for  special 
tasks. 

Meetings. — Meetings  may  be  held  (a)  on  Sunday, 
as  a  group,  for  worship  and  the  expression  of  the 
devotional  life;  in  classes,  for  instruction;  (b) 
through  the  week,  for  expressional  activities  as  occa- 
sion demands,  recognizing  the  physical,  social,  mental 
and  religious  life. 

Program. — Any  complete  program  of  religious 
education  must  include  the  three  factors  of  worship, 
instruction  and  expression. 

I.  Worship:  The  program  should  provide  oppor- 
tunity for  training  and  participation  in  worship. 


APPENDIXES  253 

2.  Instruction:  (a)  Teachers.  The  teachers 
should  be  graduates  of  a  recognized  teacher-training 
course,  or  its  equivalent.  (b)  Time.  A  class  period, 
at  least  thirty  minutes  of  which  should  be  given  to 
the  lesson,  (c)  Course  of  study.  There  should  be 
courses  of  study  graded  according  to  the  needs  and 
interests  of  each  group ;  with  elective  courses  for  the 
young  people's  group.  Definite  provision  must  be 
made  both  in  lesson  material  and  by  practice  for  the 
training  of  leaders  for  all  Christian  activities. 

3.  Expression:  Provision  should  be  made  so  that 
all  worship  and  instruction  shall  issue  in  service  for 
Christ  in  the  home,  the  church,  the  community  and 
the  world  along  physical,  social,  mental  and  religious 
lines. 


APPENDIX  B 

Published  Graded  Lesson  Texts 

Graded  lessons  for  use  in  Sunday  schools  may  be 
classified  as  (A)  International,  based  on  the  series 
of  yearly  lists  of  graded  lessons  issued  by  the  Inter- 
national Lesson  Committee;  (B)  denominational, 
based  on  lists  formulated  by  denominational  au- 
thority; (C)  independent,  based  on  lists  formulated 
by  a  publishing  house  working  independently  of  de- 
nominational or  International  relationship. 

A  few  facts  as  to  the  genesis  of  the  International 
Graded  Lessons  will  be  of  interest  to  administrators 
using  or  planning  to  use  them  in  any  of  their  present 
forms : 

The  International  Lesson  Committee  was_  first 
formed  in  1872,  to  select  the  International  Uniform 
Lessons.  It  was  regularly  elected  and  instructed  by 
the  successive  International  conventions,  representing 


254  APPENDIXES 

the  Sunday  schools  of  all  Protestant  evangelical  de- 
nominations in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  In 
191 2  it  was  reconstructed,  to  represent  the  Sunday- 
school  Council  of  Evangelical  Denominations  and  the 
denominations  severally  as  v^ell  as  the  Convention. 
Originally  fourteen,  later  fifteen,  the  reconstruction 
increased  the  membership  to  about  forty;  the  de- 
nominational lesson  editors  predominating. 

In  1895  the  Lesson  Committee,  to  meet  a  demand 
from  some  critics  of  the  uniform  lessons,  issued  a 
one-year  primary  course,  so-called.  This  was  little 
used.  A  more  specific  demand  later  arising,  it  issued 
in  1901,  for  use  in  1902,  a  one-year  course  for  be- 
ginners, following  this  with  a  two-year  beginners' 
course,  which  had  been  sanctioned  by  the  Interna- 
tional Convention  of  1902.  This  was  widely  used 
and  led  to  a  demand  for  other  graded  courses  to 
follow. 

In  October,  1906,  the  International  Superintendent 
of  Primary  and  Junior  Work,  Mrs.  J.  Woodbridge 
Barnes,  pursuant  to  authority  given  her  by  resolution 
of  the  International  Executive  Committee,  called  to- 
gether a  conference  of  workers  at  Newark,  N,  J.,  to 
study  the  spiritual  needs  of  children  of  the  elementary 
grades,  ages  four  to  twelve,  and  to  outline  a  course 
of  lessons  for  each  of  these  nine  years,  to  meet  the 
needs  thus  studied.  In  April,  1908,  the  result  of  the 
labours  of  this  conference  was  presented  to  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Lesson  Committee,  in  the  shape  of  nine 
years  of  graded  lessons  for  the  ages  already  named. 
For  each  year  there  was  a  list  of  fifty-two  titles,  with 
Scripture  and  other  specifications  for  the  lesson- 
writer's  guidance. 

Meanwhile  the  current  discussions  of  graded  and 
uniform  lessons  led  to  a  conference,  called  by  Mr. 
W.  N.  Hartshorn  in  January,  1908,  at  which  all 
parties  agreed  that  the  International  Convention, 
through  its  Lesson  Committee,  should  continue  to 


APPENDIXES  256 

prepare  the  tiniform  lessons  as  long  as  they  were 
demanded  by  the  schools,  and  should  also  prepare  a 
full  set  of  graded  lessons,  to  be  used  by  any  who 
might  so  desire.  In  July,  1908,  the  Convention,  meet- 
ing at  Louisville,  Ky.,  endorsed  this  policy. 

In  January,  1909,  the  Lesson  Committee,  after  hav- 
ing carefully  revised  the  outlines  received  from  the 
conference,  issued  three  yearly  sets — first  year  be- 
ginners, first  year  primary  and  first  year  junior — and 
continued  so  to  issue  these  yearly  lists  until  the 
elementary  courses  were  complete.  In  October,  1909, 
the  first  sets  of  lessons  were  introduced  into  the 
Sunday  schools. 

The  demand  for  these  new  International  graded 
lessons  proved  unexpectedly  large,  notwithstanding 
the  many  difficulties  which  the  Sunday  schools 
adopting  them  found  in  training  teachers  to  use  them 
effectively.  The  Lesson  Committee  asked  the  Graded 
Lesson  Conference,  so-called,  to  reorganize  itself 
under  the  same  chairman  and  proceed  with  the  draft- 
ing of  the  intermediate  and  senior  lists,  for  the  eight 
years  from  thirteen  to  twenty.  This  was  done,  the 
denominations  cooperating.  The  lists  thus  prepared 
were  submitted  to  the  Lesson  Committee  in  printed 
form,  and  were  by  them  revised  and  issued  from' 
time  to  time.  For  the  fourth  senior  year,  age  twenty, 
two  alternative  courses  were  prepared,  one  Biblical, 
"  The  Bible  and  Social  Living,"  the  other  non- 
Biblical,  giving  an  outline  of  Christian  history  under 
the  title  "  The  Spirit  of  Christ  Transforming  the 
World."  The  whole  series  of  seventeen  yearly 
courses  was  completed  in  1916. 

Objections  having  been  raised  to  certain  extra- 
Biblical  features  In  some  of  the  courses,  the  Lesson 
Committee  issued  alternative  lists  to  cover  these  fea- 
tures. It  has  also  issued  other  elective  courses  for 
senior  and  adult  students,  and  has  sanctioned  the 
departmental  handling  of  its  graded  lists.    The  Com- 


256  APPENDIXES 

mittee  of  course  has  no  control  over  anything  beyond 
the  use  of  the  designation  "  International  " ;  and  even 
under  this  title  the  publishers  have  handled  the  lists 
rather  freely. 

Directors  and  others  desiring  to  study  the  Com- 
mittee's lesson  lists,  with  their  aims  and  other  in- 
troductory matter,  can  usually  procure  them  through 
the  editorial  office  of  their  denominational  publishing 
house,  for  whose  use  they  are  furnished. 

A.    International  Texts 

1.  The  Syndicate  issues.  Immediately  upon  re- 
lease of  the  first  graded  lists,  the  Congregational, 
Methodist  Episcopal,  Methodist  Episcopal  South  and 
Presbyterian  houses  formed  a  syndicate  to  issue 
jointly  the  entire  International  graded  lesson  series. 
The  lessons  were  written  by  members  of  the  confer- 
ence which  had  discussed  and  selected  the  lessons 
and  were  carefully  edited  by  the  lesson  editors  of 
these  denominations — Drs.  Sidney  A.  Weston,  John 
T.  McFarland,  E.  B.  Chappell  and  J.  R.  Miller.  Each 
house  used  its  own  title-page  and  trademark.  Pilgrim, 
Berean  or  Westminster ;  but  otherwise  the  text-books 
were  the  same.  Many  other  denominations  also  used 
these  issues,  the  title-pages  carrying  the  denomina- 
tional name  and  imprint.  In  1914  the  Presby- 
terian house  withdrew  from  the  Syndicate,  after  it 
had  cooperated  in  the  issuance  of  the  first  fourteen 
of  the  seventeen  courses.  In  191 7  and  1918  the 
Syndicate  lessons  were  entirely  revised  and  reissued, 
with  many  improvements. 

2.  The  Keystone  issues.  With  equal  promptness 
the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  under  the 
editorial  leadership  of  Dr.  C.  R.  Blackall,  brought 
out  and  has  since  revised  its  own  independently 
written  "  Keystone  Graded  Lessons,"  based,  like  those 
of  the  Syndicate,  on  the  International  lists,  with  some 
modifications. 


APPENDIXES  2b7 

3.  The  Southern  Baptist  Convention  followed  a 
little  later,  using  the  strictly  Biblical  material  fur- 
nished alternatively  in  the  International  lists,  and  pub- 
lished for  their  constituents  a  complete  graded  series. 

4.  The  Standard  Publishing  Company  (Disciples), 
and  the  Christian  Board  of  Publication  (Disciples) 
each  issue  a  complete  series  based  on  the  original 
International  outhne. 

5.  Several  other  publishing  houses,  denomina- 
tional and  independent,  including  the  Universahst 
Publishing  House  and  The  Sunday  School  Times 
(undenominational),  have  at  various  times  issued 
text-book  material  based  v^holly  or  in  part  on  the 
International  graded  lessons, 

6.  The  Presbyterian  house,  after  its  withdrawal 
from  the  Syndicate,  formed  a  new  syndicate  of  Pres- 
byterian and  Reformed  houses  and  began  the  issuance 
of  "  International  graded  lessons,  modified,"  in  de- 
partmental issues  published  in  periodical  form.  Each 
periodical  is  intended  for  use  in  all  three  of  the 
yearly  grades  of  the  department  concerned.  The 
lesson  books  and  papers  are  dated  and  like  the  uni- 
form lesson  quarterlies  are  freshly  issued  whenever 
the  course  is  repeated ;  that  is,  every  three  years. 

B.  Denominational  Texts 
The  Department  of  Religious  Education,  represent- 
ing the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A., 
issues  the  Christian  Nurture  Series,  published  by  the 
Morehouse  Publishing  Company,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 
It  covers  all  grades.  The  lessons  are  prepared  and 
constantly  revised  by  commissions,  numbering  over 
one  hundred  persons,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Department. 

The  Lutheran  Publication  Society,  representing  the 
United  Lutheran  Church  in  America,  issues,  from 
its  headquarters  at  Ninth  and  Sansom  Streets,  Phila- 


268  APPENDIXES 

delphia,  the  complete  graded  series  of  text-books, 
papers,  pictures  and  appliances  formerly  furnished  by 
the  General  Council,  now  united  with  the  General 
Synod.  This  series  is  now  being  rewritten  and  re- 
cast. It  also  issues  the  "Augsburg  "  imprint  edition 
of  the  Syndicate's  International  texts. 

The  Friends'  General  Conference,  from  its  Cen- 
tral Bureau,  150  North  Fifteenth  Street,  Philadelphia, 
issues  a  set  of  graded  lessons  covering  nearly  or  quite 
all  the  grades,  with  courses  for  adults.  The  juvenile 
lessons  are  partly  based  on  the  International  graded 
lesson  topics. 

The  Unitarian  Sunday-school  Society,  from  its 
headquarters,  25  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  issues  the 
Beacon  Series  of  graded  lessons,  covering  all  grades. 
These  lessons,  with  the  earlier  texts  which  preceded 
them  under  the  same  distinctive  name,  were  used  by 
the  schools  of  this  denomination  for  many  years  prior 
to  the  issue  of  the  International  graded  texts. 

Information  concerning  any  of  these  lessons,  or 
concerning  the  lesson  policy  and  available  issues  of 
any  denomination  not  here  listed,  may  be  secured 
from  the  denomination's  publication  headquarters. 

C.     Independent  Texts 

In  addition  to  various  publications  intended  for 
graded  teaching  in  some  department  of  the  Sunday 
school,  or  available  for  such  use,  the  following  com- 
plete systems  of  Sunday-school  graded  study  are 
offered : 

The  Completely  Graded  Series,  published  by 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  597  Fifth  Avenue,  New 
York.  This  series  is  the  successor  to  the  Bible  Study 
Union  or  Blakeslee  Lessons,  issued  about  1891  by  Dr. 
Erastus  Blakeslee  and  used  by  a  large  company  of 
Sunday  schools  prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  Inter- 
national  Graded  Lessons.    From  the  Bible   Study 


APPENDIXES  259 

Union,  organized  by  Dr.  Blakeslee,  the  publication  of 
these  partially  graded  lessons  and  their  "  completely 
graded  "  successors  passed  to  the  firm  which  pub- 
lishes them  nov/.  The  series  provides  for  all  grades. 
The  Constructive  Studies,  published  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  Press,  Chicago,  is  a  series  of  texts 
covering  all  grades  and  intended  for  use  in  the  Sun- 
day school.  It  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  "  constructive 
Bible  studies  "  promoted  for  many  years  by  President 
William  R.  Harper  and  his  colleagues  in  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Sacred  Literature.  Like  the  Com- 
pletely Graded  texts,  these  books  represent  a  high 
degree  of  scholarship  and  an  appreciation  of  the 
ideals  of  religious  education. 


APPENDIX  C 

The  Standard  Teaclier-Training  Course 
(See  text,  page  i8o) 

Besides  the  titles  adopted  by  the  Sunday-school 
Council  for  the  eight  units  of  the  first  and  second 
years,  as  given  in  the  text,  these  were  in  1917  adopted 
for  the  five  parallel  courses  of  the  third  year.  Num- 
bers indicate  the  number  of  lessons  in  each  section. 

Beginners  and  Primary  Units. — (In  publication, 
the  courses  for  beginners  and  primary  teachers  may 
be  separated  if  publishers  so  desire.)  Specialized 
Child-study  (beginners  and  primary  age),  10;  Story- 
telling (selection  and  telling  of  stories,  with  practice 
work  in  class),  10;  Beginners  and  Primary  Methods 
(including  practice-teaching  and  observation),  20. 

Junior  Units. — Specialized  Child-study  (junior 
age),  10;  Junior  Teaching  Material  and  Its  Use 
(story-telling,  analysis  and  emphasis,  with  practice- 
teaching),  10;  Christian  Conduct  for  Juniors  (includ- 


260  APPENDIXES 

ing  special  reference  to  habit  and  Christlike  action), 
lo;  Junior  Department  Organization  and  Methods 
(with  practice-teaching  and  observation),  lo. 

Secondary  (Young  People's)  Units. — Specialized 
Study  of  the  Pupil  (intermediate,  senior  and  young 
people's  ages),  lo;  Material  for  Secondary  Teaching 
(studied  with  reference  to  the  development  of  Chris- 
tian character),  lo;  Christian  Doctrines  and  Institu- 
tions (in  relation  to  the  life  and  thought  of  the  pupil 
at  this  age),  lo;  Methods  for  Intermediates,  Seniors 
and  Young  People,  lo. 

Adult  Units. — The  Psychology  of  the  Adult  and 
His  Religious  Education,  lo;  How  to  Present  the 
Social  Message  of  the  Bible  and  Its  Modern  Applica- 
tion, 10 ;  Adult  Aims  and  Methods,  lo;  The  Church, 
Its  Activities  and  Leadership,  lo. 

Administrative  Units. — History  and  Principles  of 
Religious  Education,  lo;  The  Educational  Task  of 
the  Local  Church,  lo;  The  Sunday-school  Cur- 
riculum, 10 ;  Sunday-school  Management,  lo. 


Bibliography 


Among  recent  books  bearing  on  church-school  adminis- 
tration, these  may  be  mentioned : 

Stout,  John  Elbert.  Organization  and  Administration  of 
Religious  Education.  Covers  week-day  and  collegiate  re- 
ligious instruction,  in  addition  to  the  work  of  the  Sunday 
school,  from  the  viewpoint  of  a  professional  educational 
administrator.    Abingdon  Press,  1922. 

Bower,  William  C.  A  Survey  of  Religious  Education  in 
the  Local  Church.  Explanation  of  the  survey  method;  full 
schedules  of  queries  covering  the  church  school,  generally 
and  by  departments.  A  guide  to  clear  and  detailed  ad- 
ministrative thinking.     University  of  Chicago  Press,  1918. 

Cope,  Henry  F.  The  School  in  the  Modern  Church. 
Stimulating  presentation  of  the  new  ideals  in  local  religious 
education;  useful  bibliography  appended.    Doran,  1919. 

Other  books  of  this  introductory  type  are: 

Bett's,  George  Herbert.  The  New  Program  of  Religious 
Education.     Abingdon  Press,  1921. 

Bower,  W.  C.  The  Educational  Task  of  the  Local 
Church.     Front  Rank  Press,  1921. 

Useful  for  detailed  suggestions  on  several  of  the  topics 
named  below,  especially  H,  IH,  VI  and  X : 

Faris,  John  T.,  editor.  The  Sunday  School  at  Work. 
Chapters  by  various  authors  on  special  topics  in  Sunday- 
school  administration.  Westminster  Press,  1914;  revised 
€d.,  1915. 

Of  special  value  on  the  chapter-topics  named: 
/.     The  Church  School  Organised: 

^  Athearn,  Walter  S.  The  Organization  and  Administra- 
tion of  the  Church  School.  A  brief  handbook  of  principles 
of  administration,  with  suggested  methods,  from  the  edu- 
cational viewpoint.     Pilgrim  Press,  1917. 

261 


262  BIBLIOGEAPHY 

Cope,  H.  F.  The  Modern  Sunday  School  and  Its  Pres- 
ent-day Task.  A  study  of  practical  administrative  church- 
school  method.  Revised  from  the  author's  1905  book.  Re- 
veil,  1919. 

Cunningim  and  North.  Organization  and  Administration 
of  the  Sunday  School.    Abingdon  Press,  1919. 

Lawrance,  Marion.  How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  SchooL 
Management  problems  practically  treated,  from  the  view- 
point of  an  experienced  field  worker,  who  was  also  for  over 
thirty  years  superintendent  of  a  large  city  Sunday  schooL 
Revell,  1905;  revised  ed.,  1915. 

Fergusson,  E.  Morris.  How  to  Run  a  Little  Sunday 
School.     Revell,  1916. 

//.    The  Official  Staff: 

Brown,  Frank  L.  The  Superintendent  and  His  Work.. 
Detailed  suggestions,  well  arranged,  with  index.  Methodist 
Book  Concern,  191 1. 

McEntire,  Ralph  N.  The  Sunday-school  Secretary.  De- 
tailed  suggestions,  with  comparison  of  various  methods  and 
numerous  sample  forms.     Methodist  Book  Concern,  1917. 

On  the  chorister's  work,  help  can  be  had  in  a  study  of  any 
of  the  recent  high-grade  school  and  church-school  hymnals, 
especially : 

Smith,  H.  Augustine.  Hymnal  for  American  Youth.  The 
Century  Company,  1919.  See  also  a  series  of  accompanying 
pamphlets  based  on  this  collection,  by  Professor  Smith's 
fellow-workers;  same  publisher,  later  dates. 

Valuable  suggestions  on  the  handling  of  a  Sunday-school 
library  will  be  found  in  The  Sunday  School  at  Work,  listed 
above. 

III.    Divisions,  Departments  and  Classes: 

'  Athearn,  W.  S.  The  Church  School.  Includes  a  careful 
educational  study  of  each  department,  with  numerous  lists 
of  books,  pictures,  story  material,  etc.     Pilgrim  Press,  1914. 

Bryner,  Mary  Foster.  The  Elementary  Division  Organ- 
ized for  Service.    Revell,  191 7. 

Baldwin,  Maud  Junkin.  The  Children's  Division  of  a 
Little  Sunday  School.    Westminster  Press,  1922. 


BIBLIOGEAPHY  263 

Maus,  Cynthia  Pearl.  Youth  and  the  Church.  The  pro- 
gram of  work  for  the  intermediate,  senior  and  young  peo- 
ple's departments,  in  conformity  with  the  191 7  standard  of 
the  Sunday-school  Council.  Standard  Publishing  Company, 
1919. 

Wood,  Irving  F.  Adult  Class  Study,  Analysis  of  what 
constitutes  effective  teaching  in  the  adult  class;  lists  of 
courses.    Pilgrim  Press,  1911, 

IV  and  VIII.     The  Teaching  Staff;  Training: 

McElfresh,  Franklin.  The  Training  of  Sunday-school 
Officers  and  Teachers.    Abingdon  Press,  1914. 

Athearn,  W.  S.  The  City  Institute  for  Religious  Teach- 
ers.    University  of  Chicago  Press,  1915. 

Slattery,  Margaret.  A  Guide  for  Teachers  of  Training 
Classes.  Leader's  manual  for  the  now  superseded  Pilgrim 
training  course,  but  suggestive  for  guidance  of  practice- 
teaching.    Pilgrim  Press,  1912. 

Text-books  of  special  value  for  the  teacher-trainer: 

Betts,  G.  H.  How  to  Teach  Religion.  Abingdon  Press, 
1919. 

McKeever,  William  A.  How  to  Become  a  Successful 
Sunday-school  Teacher.  Standard  PubHshing  Company, 
1915. 

V.    The  Course  of  Study  and  Expression: 

Pease,  George  W.  An  Outline  of  a  Bible-school  Curric- 
ulum. Suggestive,  though  now  largely  of  historical  value, 
as  a  pioneer  work  in  this  field.  University  of  Chicago 
Press,  1904. 

Meyer,  Henry  H.  The  Graded  Sunday  School  in  Prin- 
ciple and  Practice.  Full  on  the  then  new  International 
Graded  Lessons.    Methodist  Book  Concern,  1910. 

Coe,  George  Albert.  A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation. Note  especially  Chapter  IX,  "  A  New  Theory  of  the 
Curriculum."    Scribners,  191 7. 

Hutchins,  W.  Norman.  Graded  Social  Service  for  the 
Sunday  School.    University  of  Chicago  Press,  1914. 


264  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

VI.  The  School  and  the  Home: 

Cope,  H.  F.  Religious  Education  in  the  Family.  Uni- 
versity o£  Chicago  Press,  1915. 

VII.  The  Building  and  Equipment: 

Athearn,  W.  S.,  editor.  The  Maiden  Survey.  See  text, 
p.  160.    Doran,  1920. 

Evans,  Herbert  F.  The  Sunday-school  Building  and  Its 
Equipment.  Based  on  the  modern  educational  viewpoint. 
University  o£  Chicago  Press,  1914. 

Burroughs,  P.  E.  Building  a  Successful  Sunday  School. 
Full  and  helpful  on  housing  and  equipment.    Revell,  1921. 

IX.  The  Yearly  Program: 

Lawrance,  M.  Special  Days  in  the  Sunday  School.  Re- 
vell, 1916. 

X.  The  School's  Religion: 

Hartshorne,  Hugh.  Childhood  and  Character.  Pilgrim 
Press,  1919. 

Same.  Worship  in  the  Sunday  School.  Teachers  College 
Publications,  1913. 

Same.  The  Book  of  Worship  of  the  Church  School. 
Scribners,  1915. 

Same.    Manual  for  Training  in  Worship.    Scribners,  1915- 

Brewbaker,  Charles  W.  The  Devotional  Life  of  the  Sun- 
day School.     Revell,  1921. 

Stowell,  Jay  S.  Story  Worship  Programs  for  the  Church- 
school  Year.    Doran,  192a 


Index 

Adaptation,  the  principle  of,  Cai<e;ndar,  the,  organized,  28 

99              .           ...  Character  shaped  by  lessons. 

Administration    division,    21,  loi 

24  Child  religion,  228 

Adult  classes,  started,  53;  in  Children's  Day  as  commence- 

the  small  school,  58;  as  an  ment,   198;   its  observance, 

agency     for     reaching     the  212 

homes,   133;   religious  edu-  Chorister,  the,  28;  his  duties, 

cation  in,  236  45 

Adult   division,   the:   control,  Christmas,  212,  215 

63,  69;   includes   the  home  Church  officers  in  the  school, 

department,  21,  141  Z7 

Aims  of  lesson  courses,  107;  Church  relations,  31 

of  the  graded  lessons,  109;  Church  service,  training  for, 

administrative  use  of,  iii  192 

Akron  plan  of  Sunday-school  Class  organization,  T2) 

buildings,  55;  history,  149;  Class  presidents,   council   of, 

description,  150  68 

Annual  appointment  of  teach-  Classes  of  officers,  36 

ers,  89,  204  Classes,    Sunday-school,   how 

Annual  reports,  209  started,  53 

Architecture,     church-school:  Classrooms:   size,  62;  origin, 

history,   148;   general  prin-  148;  limitations,  149 

ciples,  151 ;  new  features  in.  Clerk  of  the  workers'  coun- 

153 ;  a  standard  for,  160  cil,  40 

Assistant     officers,     how  Committee  on  education    12 

elected,  48  41                                       >  v   . 

Associate  superintendent,  du-  Communitv,  responsibility  of 

a/iI^"'  '\?r^u       o       <        o         church  to,   153;   discharged 
Athearn,  Walter  S.,  160,  180       through  its  building   167 

Average    Sunday    school    in  Communitv    training    school 

U.  S.,  size,  57  the,  189" 

T>  ,  Confession  of  Christ,  244 

BEGINNERS     department:    its  Correlation  of  church-school 

spirit,  65  with  other  work,   105,   116, 

iiiographical  studies,  value  in       234 

training,  175  Council,     the     workers',     see 
Budget,  the  annual,  30;  how       Workers'  council 

prepared     and     presented,  Counselors     in    young    peo- 

210  pie's  division,  63,  68,  79 

265 


266 


INDEX 


Course  of  study:  features  of 
a,  102;  for  a  church  school, 
103;  built  for  a  school, 
118;  selected,  120;  train- 
ing-course features  of, 
173;  religion  in  the,  228- 
237 

Cradle  roll,  the:  in  the  chil- 
dren's division,  65,  79;  as 
an  agency  for  reaching  the 
home,  131 ;  its  place  in 
teacher-training,  173 

Cradle-roU  class,  65,  79;  a 
room  for,  165 

Curriculum;  see  Course  of 
study 

Decision    Day,    115;    princi- 
ples governing,  230;  meth- 
ods, 244 
Demotions  unwise,  201 
Denominational         headquar- 
ters, to  be  utilized,  181,  188 
Denominational   relations,   32 
Department  of  the  home,  the, 

139 
Department  of  training,  the, 

184 
Department  principals :  re- 
sponsibility, 42;  in  the  chil- 
dren's division,  65,  79;  in 
the  young  people's  division, 
63,  68,  81;  should  keep 
graded  roll,  120 ;  facilities 
for,  166;  their  work  on 
Promotion  Day,  202;  an- 
nually appointed,  205;  fes- 
tival work  of,  214 
Department  without  a  room, 

the,  63 
Departmental   diflFerences,  61 
Departmental  lessons,  66,  71 
Departmental  staffs,  83 
Dike,  Samuel  W.,  124 
Director  of   religious   educa- 
tion,  the:  his   jurisdiction, 
37,  46;  his  work  in  corre- 


lation, S3;  in  lesson-choos- 
ing, 97 ;  his  office  room, 
166;  should  not  be  teacher- 
trainer,  186;  candidates 
for,  193;  annual  report  of, 
210 
Distribution    of    jurisdiction, 

35. 
Dominant  principle,  the,  100 
Duncan,  W.  A.,  125 

Easter,  212 

Education  of  the  emotions, 
27 

Educational  projects,  116 

Entrance  requirements  for 
the  training  class,  176 

Equipment :  in  the  children's 
division,  62,  65 ;  for  map 
teaching,  84 ;  lack  of,  105 ; 
for  home  work,  142;  place 
of,  144;  for  visualization, 
155 ;  for  play  and  recrea- 
tion, 156;  of  church  room 
and  social  hall,  165;  for  of- 
ficers' work,  166;  for 
physical  training,  166;  for 
training,  187 

Evangelism :  as  religious  ex- 
pression, 115;  methods  of, 
with  childhood,  228;  with 
the  juniors,  229;  with 
adolescents,  230 

Executive  staff,  the,  42 

Executor,  figure  of  the,  35 

Expanding  the  one-room 
school,  56 

Expression,  the  course  of, 
III 

Expressive  activities,  graded, 

113 
Expressive  conduct,  114 

Father- AND- Son       banquets, 

134 
Features  of  departmental  or- 
ganization, 64 


INDEX 


267 


Federation  of  local  churches, 

147 

Festivals,  211 

Financial  organization,  29 

Five-class  school,  the,  organ- 
ization, 58 

Freedom  of  the  teacher,  121 

GARfiELD  and  Mark  Hopkins, 
144 

Goals:  of  home  endeavor, 
129;  annual,  197;  for  every 
work,  199 

Going  school,  a,  172 

Go-to-Sunday-School  Day, 
204 

Graded  lessons:  how  intro- 
duced, 118;  use  in  festival 
preparations,  213 

Graded  religion,  227 

Grades  and  promotions,  70 

Grades,  International  stand- 
ard, 20 

Grading:  definition,  19,  70 

History  :  of  the  teaching  or- 
ganization, 53 ;  of  the  uni- 
form-lesson idea,  54;  of 
department  names  and  age- 
limits,  60;  of  primary  spe- 
cialization, 76;  of  the 
junior  department,  Tj;  of 
the  International  graded 
lessons,  109;  of  the  home 
department,  125 ;  of  church- 
school  architecture,  148;  of 
teacher-training  courses, 
178 

Home  classes  :  history,  125 ; 
use  of  for  training  prac- 
tice, 184 

Home  department,  the;  his- 
tory, 125;  its  needs,  132; 
related  to  the  church,  140 

Home  service  called  for,  126; 
a  scale  of,  127 

Home,  the:  a  school  of  re- 


hgion,    124;    self-sufficient, 
126;    a  program    for,    128; 
agencies  for  reaching,  130 
Hurlbut     type     of     training 
manuals,  178 

ILLUMINATION  of  rooms.  163 

Independent  lesson  courses, 
no 

"  Infant  schools,"  23,  53 

Inherited  limitations  i  n 
church-school  practice,   148 

Installations:  of  teachers, 
206;  of  officers,  209 

Interchurch  World  Move- 
ment, 160 

Intermediate  training,  ele- 
ments of,  174 

International  Graded  I<es- 
sons:  history,  109 

Junior  Department  :  its 
fourth  year,  21 ;  its  needs, 
66;  history,  ^T,  staff,  83; 
place  in  teacher-training, 
173;  Bible  supply  for,  203 

Junior  religion,  229 

Junior  training,  elements  of, 

173 

Jurisdiction  distributed,  35 

Lesson-choosing,  97 

"  Lesson  of  the  day,  the,"  old 

and  new,  28 
Librarian,  the,  47,  218 
Life  service  secured  through 

training,  193 
Little  Sunday  schools,  57,  64 
Load-factor,  the,  152,  165 
Logical  and  psychologic  aims, 

108 
Losses  of  workers,  170 

Makeshift  housing,  146 
Map  teacher,  the,  84 


268 


INDEX 


Membership  increase :  organ- 
ized, 24;  needed,  171 

Music :  how  organized,  27 ; 
relation  to  festival  obser- 
vance, 214 

Needs  of  the  pupil  para- 
mount, 98 
Neighbourhood  relations,  32 
New  building:  how  to  plan, 
148;  start  with  full  reor- 
ganization, 150;  general 
principles,  151 ;  new  fea- 
tures, 153;  how  to  realize, 

157 
New  members,  how  take  in, 

24 
Nomadic  teachers,  T],  185 

One-lesson-for-all  idea,  the, 

54 
One-year     training     manual, 

the,  178 
Opening    worship,    241 ;    how 

opened,  243 
Order   of    service    organized, 

18 
Organization,  good  and  poor, 

Organizing  the  pupils,  19; 
the  teachers,  22;  the  of- 
ficers, 23;  the  course  of 
study,  26;  the  music,  27; 
the  calendar,  28;  the 
finances,  29;  the  school's 
relations,  31 

Paid    officers    and    teachers, 

30,  49,  1S6 
Parenthood,  training  for,  136 
Parents'  department,  the,  134 
Pastor,  the :  as  a  school  of- 
ficer, },•],  39;  as  a  catechist, 
116;     as     an     agency     for 
reaching  the  homes,  130 
Pay,  the  officers',  49 


Periods  in  the  order  of  serv- 
ice, 18 

Pianist,  the,  46 

Picnics,  215 

Play  and  recreation  provided 
for,  155 

Primary  department:  its 
start,  54;  growth  from  pri- 
mary class,  59;  arrange- 
ment of  classes  in,  66;  his- 
tory, 76 

Professional  service  in  the 
church  school   coming,    153 

Project-teaching,  116 

Promotion  Day,  22,  72,  90, 
198;  suggestions  for,  202 

Promotions,  72,  88,  200 

Public  schools  cannot  teach 
religion,   103 

Rally  Day,  203,  212 

Reading  courses,  icx) 

Reciprocity  in  the  training  of 
workers,  194 

Recreation  provided  for,  155 

Religion :  need  for  a  course 
in,  103;  difficulties  of  such 
a  course,  104 ;  taught  by  the 
school,  226;  lived  by  the 
school,  -ZZT,  246 

Rooms,  the  leader's  attitude 
to,  144;  the  vision  of,  164 

Rules:  for  sulistitutes,  86; 
for  annual  appointments, 
205 ;  for  the  purchase  of 
supplies,  218 

Secretary,  the:  not  clerk  of 
council,  40;  his  duties,  44; 
facilities  for,  166;  should 
train  his  assistants,  185;  as 
purchasing  agent,  217 

Senior  promotions,  90 

Senior  religion,  232 

Senior  training,  elements  of, 
174 


INDEX 


269 


Separation     of     pupils     and 

teachers,  62,  72,  88 
Short-course    senior    classes, 

91  .  .  ^ 

Speciahzation,  primary,  76 

Spencer,  Herbert,  on  parent- 
training,  137 

Standard  for  city  church 
plants,  160;  interpreted  as 
a  vision,  164 

Standard  teacher-training 
course,  179 

Standards,  official,  to  be  fol- 
lowed, 61 

State  and  county  Sunday- 
school  association :  rela- 
tionship recognized,  2>2',  re- 
ports to,  44;  leadership 
utilized,  188;  notices  from, 
223 

Substitute  service,  the,  84;  as 
part  of  the  training  course, 
182 

Summer  schools,  190 

Superintendent,  the :  as  a 
music  leader,  27 ;  as  a 
calendar-maker,  28;  a 
church  officer,  38;  manager 
of  the  workers'  council,  39; 
of  the  platform  work,  47 ; 
must  pay  the  workers,  50; 
responsible  for  unorgan- 
ized department's,  83,  229; 
must  choose  the  lessons, 
97;  his  annual  report,  209; 
his  sevenfold  routine  of 
work,  220;  his  docket  of 
work  ahead,  222 

Supervised   substitution,   182 

Supplies,  how  ordered,  44, 
217 

Tadpoi,e  illustration,  the,  228, 

235 
Teacher,  the   Sunday-school : 
the  concept,  76,  78;  in  the 
upper    grades.    87;    allow- 


able freedom  of,  117,  121, 
138;  annual  appointment 
of,  90,  204 

Teacher-training;  see  Train- 
ing 

Teachers'  meeting,  the,  93 

Ten-class  school,  organiza- 
tion, 58 

Thring,  Edward,  on  "  the 
wall,"  145 

Todd,  John,  76,  78 

Training:  the  master  task, 
170;  size  of  the  need, 
170;  of  undergraduates, 
173;  its  curriculum,  178; 
substitution  as  part  of,  182 ; 
the  department  of,  184;  re- 
sults of,  192 

Transfer  of  pupils  to  another 
class,  22,  201 

Treasurer,  the,  40;  his  annual 
report,  209 

Trumbull,  H.  Clay,  76,  78 

Ungraded  teacher,  the,  76 
Uniform    Lessons,    26;    his- 
tory-, 54;  institutions  based 
on,  55 ;  are  for  adult  con- 
venience, 97;   fail  to  meet 
needs,     99;      not     a     true 
course,  102 
Unity  of  church  plant,  151 
Upper-grade      teaching,     87 ; 
promotions,  88 

Vacancy  wanted,  91 
Vincent,  John  H,  178 
Visualization,  155,  165 

Week-day  religious  instruc- 
tion, 107 ;  architectural 
provision  for,  154 

Workers'  council,  the :  estab- 
lished, 32;  its  officers,  39; 
its  action,  90;  its  confer- 
ence :  how  run,  93 ;  as  a 
means   of   teacher-training. 


270  INDEX 

igi ;  should  approve  the  Young  people's  department : 
annual  school  report,  210;  needs,  69;  a  plan  ior  or- 
its  calendar,  219  ganizing,  233;  teaching  for, 

.Worship:    as     religious    ex-       235 
pression,    112;    the    service   Young  people's  division:  fea- 
of,  240  tures   of   organization,  67; 

activities     of,      116,      245; 

Year,  the,  when  begin,  198,       should    help    in    festivals, 
207  213 


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